


Opposition in All Things

by FalabaWitch



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Leliana ships it, Marriage, everyone ships it, some babies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-04-28 10:24:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5087005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FalabaWitch/pseuds/FalabaWitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Or, How to Throw the Wedding of the Age Without Really Trying)</p><p>Dear Varric,<br/>Our dear Divine Victoria requires your attendance at Skyhold, immediately.<br/>She is insisting that we get married.<br/>Please bring your most cunning words and best debating skills. They will be very much needed.<br/>Yours,<br/>Cassandra</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kriseis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kriseis/gifts).



_By My Will alone is Balance sundered_  
_And the world given new life._  
_-Threnodies 5_

“So, Cassandra, when is the wedding?” Leliana said, a casual tone to her voice as she sipped tea, careful not to bow her head too much to keep her huge divine hat from falling over. The sun was high in the sky and bore down on the two former hands of the Divine, as they sat on the terrace, the Val Royeaux chantry towering behind them.

Cassandra was there on business, technically, in talks with the chantry of Divine Victoria about what role the Seekers would still have there. The talks were long and boring, and Leliana had gladly whisked her old friend away as soon as she could, allowing the two of them to relax for a moment in a much less formal atmosphere.

Cassandra choked on her drink, her eyes wide. “ _What_. What do you even mean?!”

Leliana raised an eyebrow delicately, taking another sip of her tea. Cassandra suspected that she was hiding a smile behind her tea cup, “I mean, have you and Varric set a date for the wedding yet? I will need to know well in advance, and I would be honored to officiate the ceremony-“

Cassandra shook her head rapidly, and a blush spread across her face. “How do you even know about that - of course you do, never mind. But Leliana, Varric and I...” Cassandra took a deep breath, composing herself a little bit more. “Varric and I have never even discussed a wedding. The idea is just impractical. We don’t even live in the same city most of the time!” Cassandra put her hand on the edge of the table, tapping her fingers nervously. However, the metal of her armour clinked heavily against the delicate wooden table, and she quickly removed it, placing both her hands awkwardly in her lap.

Leliana laughed lightly. “And yet, how often do you visit Kirkwall these days? And, according to my agents, it seems that you have made a permanent space for yourself in Varric’s quarters.”

Cassandra’s face became even redder. “Still. The point remains, my life must be dedicated to the Seekers-“

“Which you have rebuilt and poured five years into, and deserve a rest from,” Leliana interrupted her, not hiding her soft smile any more. Cassandra glared at her friend, but it was without threat.

“ _I have dedicated myself to the Seekers,_ ” Cassandra continued, determined, “And Varric has dedicated his life to Kirkwall. Not to mention, I wouldn’t say that Varric is exactly the marrying type.”

Leliana smiled. “First, I’m proud that you can at least admit that you and Varric are together, but I think you’re underestimating him, Cassandra.”

The Seeker rolled her eyes. “Ask him. I doubt he has even thought of marrying me. And I am honest because I am not embarrassed over my relationship with him, however casual it may be.”

There was a pause between them, and Leliana’s brows shot up, almost disappearing into that ridiculous hat.

“Casual? You consider the relationship between you two _casual_?” Leliana asked, looking at her friend in disbelief. “Cassandra, the two of you have been together for four years! You write letters to each other constantly! You spend half the year in Kirkwall at this point! In any case, I don’t think you could ever do anything casually, Cassandra, especially not loving someone. I know you too well for that.” Leliana shook her head. “So please tell me, what are you going on about?”

Cassandra thought about it for a moment, considering her words carefully. She thought often on the nature of her relationship with Varric, the slow build over the past four years. It had taken them four years to build up what they had, a tentative fondness on both sides.

_Cassandra took another large swig of the ale in front of her, and laughed, loudly and boisterously. “I have not been this drunk in years, Varric. I think the last time may have been….” She trailed off, trying to think back to her last night of wild alcoholic abandon. But she immediately lost the train of thought and instead simply stared at Varric, coolly sitting back in his chair, his legs crossed upon his desk._

_They were in his office together, the office of the Viscount, and Cassandra could see the pointed crown he still refused to wear very clearly from her seat across from him. She had told him in her letter that she would be visiting Kirkwall to meet with a promising recruit for the Seekers. This, of course, had been a complete lie on her part, although her visit was technically on its way back to the Seeker fortress she had established in the Free Marches, so it wasn’t a complete lie._

_But through the constant stream of letters the two had kept up over the past year, since the disbanding of the Inquisition, Cassandra found herself becoming ridiculously attached to Varric. It seemed easier to talk to him in letters than when they were together in person, and yet since she had arrived in the city, their banter was so easy, and so natural. It lacked the tension it had maintain during the Inquisition, a fact that was so wonderfully refreshing._

_He had produced several bottles of old Nevarran wine he had apparently been keeping for some reason, to ‘celebrate’ her coming to Kirkwall for the first time since she had dragged him out of the city._

_And so she sat here, across from him, drunk, and watching him probably more intently than was strictly appropriate._

_He had changed so little in the time she’d known him. No grey hairs, no pudginess around the middle. He looked exactly the same now as he had when they had first met. Except for his eyes, which had lost their luster over time, work and stress wearing down on his easy-going attitude._

_Cassandra stared at him, and came to the slow conclusion that she wanted to kiss him. On the lips. Possibly with tongue, it depended on how drunk she was._

_She didn’t express that thought, yet, instead leaning closer on the table as Varric laughed at her._

_“Seeker, if you can’t remember the last time you’d gotten drunk before this, I’m glad I was able to give you this little pleasure while you’re in my city,” He said, grabbing the bottle of the table and taking a hearty swig himself._

_“It is not the only pleasure you have given me here.” Cassandra giggled slightly at how it sounded. She had always been a giggly drunk. “I have enjoyed this visit to Kirkwall more than the entire four months I spent traveling before this.”_

_Varric put a hand on his chest, and Cassandra dragged her eyes to his chest hair. Dammit. “Why Cassandra, I’m flattered! I never thought you would actually give me a genuine compliment! And, to tell you the truth...” Varric took his hand off of his chest, leaning closer to her as well now. Their noses were just barely apart, and she could feel his breath against her lips at this distance._

_“I’ve enjoyed your time here more than I enjoyed those four months as well. It seems you have become an integral part to me enjoying myself, funnily enough,”_

_He chuckled, but Cassandra was no longer laughing. The wine on both their breaths, the closeness of the encounter, all spelled out a very simple conclusion in her mind, as compromised as it was._

_She placed her lips gently on his, savoring the taste of his mouth. His lips were slightly chapped, but still soft, and she pressed her own lips harder against them to truly try and feel them._

_At first, he didn’t move, and she debated pulling back, but soon he grabbed the back of her neck with the slightest touch, kissing her back with the same lightness she had used. And so she kissed him again, and again, but not bothering to push past his lips. The kiss wasn’t lustful, it was slow and careful, and each one asking ‘do you want this?’ The response seemed to be, on each side, ‘I do, I do, I do.’_

It had escalated so slowly over the years since, and to Cassandra is still felt as fragile as a newborn child. They had never talked about the exact nature of what they had, it simply was something between them.

“Casual might not be the correct word, I will grant you. However, marriage is not something Varric and I have ever spoken of. We have never even discussed the exclusivity of our relationship.” Cassandra swallowed hard. “For all I know, he might be off with other young women every night I’m not there.”

Leliana gave her a disbelieving stare. “You think so? Really?”

“I never said he was! I was saying he could be! I have never forbidden him to do so, and I am not there as often as – I’m simply not there as much. He is welcome to do as he pleases.”

Leliana’s stare had simply not let up, and Cassandra refused to let herself flinch under her friend’s gaze.

“That’s it. I’m calling Varric to Val Royeaux, and I’m going to officiate this ceremony myself, because you two will clearly never get around to it.” Leliana stood, looking imposing in the full regalia of the Divine.

“Leliana!” Cassandra cried, reaching out a hand to stop her. Leliana, however, did not even pause, and seemed to be going inside with the intent to actually write a letter summoning Varric to Val Royeaux for a mandatory marriage, “Leliana, think this through, you cannot simply marry someone without their consent!” Cassandra got up to follow her.

Leliana rolled her eyes, “Varric would agree to marry you in a heartbeat. I can tell you that, and I haven’t even seen you two together in almost five years.”

“You have your spy network though, and - wait, has he really said so?” Cassandra’s eyes widened, and a smirk graced Leliana’s face again.

“Never in so many words. But I can tell you that he hasn’t been going to the Blooming Rose every night you’re gone, which is what you seemed to be thinking.”

Cassandra’s mind started to process this, but Leliana was off again, and Cassandra knew she couldn’t let Leliana actually send Varric the letter.

“Leliana, Varric has things to do in Kirkwall! And the two of us must finish negotiations on the matter of the Seekers, and, and...” Leliana kept walking, and Cassandra called after her, “And I will _not_ be getting married in Val Royeaux!” Her words echoed through the large marble hall, traveling much farther than she had anticipated, her words echoing around her.

That stopped Leliana in her tracks, and made her turn, her smile back in full force.

Cassandra took a deep breath, calmed down for a moment, and spoke again, in a lower tone. “I will not get married in Val Royeaux. _If_ I am to be married, it must be somewhere that...” She considered it for a moment. “Somewhere that means something to me. A place that means something to us.”

“I know the perfect place then!” And with that, Leliana was off again, and Cassandra followed her, wondering what she had just agreed to. As she hastily walked down the hall, she already began to write the short missive she was going to have to send to Varric in her head.

 

* * *

 

 

 _Dear Varric,_  
_Our dear Divine Victoria requires your attendance at Skyhold, immediately._  
_She is insisting that we get married._  
_Please bring your most cunning words and best debating skills. They will be very much needed._  
_Yours,_  
_Cassandra_

 

* * *

 

 

The only thing keeping Varric from trashing his office, flipping off the nobles and riding off to join Cassandra (wherever she was now) was the fact that he loved Kirkwall so damned much.

And he truly did love the city. Overseeing its rebuilding had been one of the most rewarding things he had ever been a part of, and one of the most unambiguously good things as well. Kirkwall was a good city, it just needed a little guidance. Alright, a lot of guidance. And a lot of money, Andraste’s tits, so much fucking money.

But it was a good city. He firmly reminded himself of this while he listened to Bran drone on about every missive he had received in the last six hours, which was approximately too many.

“And the De Launcets want to talk to you about the restrictions in repairing their own residence. I believe the Comtesse is quite peeved she can’t include the second ballroom with the size restrictions you enacted,” Bran droned on, while Varric rubbed his temple.

“She does realize other people live in the city of Kirkwall, right? She can’t take up half of Hightown just because she wants an extra ballroom!” Varric cried out, and Bran raised a skeptical brow.

“Is that what you officially want me to tell her, Viscount?” Bran stressed the last word, as he was wont to do when he felt like he needed to remind Varric that he had to control Kirkwall.

Shockingly, Varric never forgot this fact. It weighed on him too heavily most of the time, and for the first time in his life he was dying for a vacation from Kirkwall.

“No, no,” Varric waved his hand through the air, “Just remind her of the guidelines and tell her if she wants to put in another ballroom, to buy up the house next to hers and then she will have the room to build it! See, problem solving skills!” Bran rolled his eyes and took note of it.

“That seems to be everything for today,” Bran was finally leaving, making his way towards the door to the office, and Varric was just pulling out his favorite quill when Bran stopped and turned on his heel.

“Oh! And I almost forgot. A letter from Seeker Pentaghast arrived earlier this morning,” Bran said much too casually for it to be anything but.

Varric was immediately at attention. “Yes! Yes, of course I do, bring it over here.” Varric snatched the letter out of Bran’s fingers as soon as it was in reach. Varric glared a little at his seneschal. “You withheld this letter on purpose, didn’t you?”

Bran gave a small smile. “Think of it as a nice surprise after a long, hard day of work. Like a nice bottle of wine,”

Varric scoffed. “Never be a writer, Bran. The Orlesian trash would like you too much.”

Bran looked slightly offended for a moment, but Varric wasn’t paying attention to him any more, and was instead focused on the letter in front of him.

The envelope simply said Varric Tethras on it, in Cassandra’s elegant scrawl, and it was seal with the seal of Kirkwall he had given her not long back.

He carefully peeled back the wax, and read the letter. He was prepared to read a page’s worth of updates on Orlais, and the wonderfully boring court of Divine Victoria. In truth, he missed Leliana a little, and would have been glad to hear an update from her.

It was not an update about Leliana. Or the chantry. It was, instead, a short, terse note, that was certainly an update on _something_.

He read it over once. Paused. And read it again, and a third time just to make sure he was going crazy. Then he called Bran back into the room to read the letter out loud to him.

Bran raised an eyebrow. “May I ask why?”

Varric held out the letter. “So I know my brain isn’t trying to screw with me and it says exactly what I think it says.”

Bran shrugged, and took the letter, scanning over it briefly, and his eyes widened to the size of saucer plates.

“Dear Varric, the Divine Victoria requests your presence at Skyhold immediately. She is insisting that we get _married_ -“

“Okay, that’s all I need to hear, the rest of it was as clear as day to me,” Varric said hastily, cutting Bran off as he stood up.

Bran stood still, frozen in place. “Married? Varric, the Divine is trying to marry you and the Seeker? Did you even propose? Do you know the political shitstorm that will follow-”

“Bran, do me a favor. Leave politics out of this for one minute, and go find me the fastest way out of Kirkwall right now. I need to write a reply, and pack my bags.” Even as he spoke, Varric was making his way out of his office.

Bran turned to face the viscount’s retreating figure, “You are seriously headed to Skyhold? You have important business to take care of!”

“I’m leaving you in charge!”

“If you are, in fact, getting married, you can’t get out of inviting the Kirkwall nobility!”

“Not now, Bran!” Varric’s mind was already off a thousand miles away, in the halls of Skyhold, contemplating marriage to the Seeker.

It wouldn’t be the first time he’s thought of it.

 

* * *

 

 

 _My dearest Cassandra,_  
_I’ll leave tonight._  
_Don’t you dare have all the fun without me._  
_-Varric_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Kriseis is a dirty dirty enabler and we have planned out way too many things for this fic.  
> Strap in boys,girls, and non-binary folks! We're in for a long wild ride


	2. Chapter 2

Cassandra was watching the front gate of Skyhold like a hawk, and had been for the past two hours. Sure, she’d been making it _look_ like she was beating down on one of the training dummies that had been left in the yard at Skyhold after its abandonment, but her hits on it were pathetic, and she was barely seeing the dummy.

She had moved from her old training area to the courtyard where the troops had trained when the Inquisition was in its prime, and she was beginning to realize how empty the place felt now. The Skyhold she had known had died with the Inquisition. It was still used sporadically, but now the only permanent residents were a handful of servants. The place had begun to gather dust, and it tugged ever so slightly on Cassandra’s heartstrings.

There were many times where she missed the Inquisition. In those days, she had felt a solid sense of purpose and direction, and there was always a certain feeling of life and passion from everyone who worked within it. It was part of the Inquisition's nature, at the beginning, to attract people who wanted to do good, and damn the politicians. Despite the terrible circumstances under which it was founded, Cassandra had found a camaraderie within the Inquisition that she had never been able to replace.

Skyhold was too empty now, filled only with the ghosts of happier times.

Besides the smattering of servants, Skyhold’s only residents at the moment were herself, Leliana, and Leliana’s team of wedding planners, currently consisting of Josephine and Ellana Lavellan. And the former Inquisitor meant that Cullen was close behind. And, apparently, the eight-month-old daughter that they had neglected to tell anyone about.

Leliana had assured her that the team would expand as her messages finally arrived, which, considering Josephine’s early arrival from Antiva, made Cassandra worry who else was on this advisor list.

Varric had not arrived yet, which was why Cassandra was watching the gate, out in the cold of early, early spring. She had received his letter more than a week ago, and it had been much too short to satisfy her.

She hadn’t seen him in almost three months, and she supposed their relationship relied on their letters. It couldn’t thrive on much else, since she could never spend more than two or three weeks in Kirkwall, and was frequently swept off on what Varric called ‘mysterious Seeker business’. While she understood why the letter was short now, it still wasn’t enough.

She took a particularly fierce swing at the dummy, and it hit home, tearing its chest open. Straw poured out from the gash, and Cassandra gave up on it for now, since she was fairly sure she had defeated the damned thing.

She looked at the gate again, as if her staring would somehow make Varric show up. It didn’t.

She walked back inside, enjoying the burst of heat she felt from the fireplace near the front door. She walked over to the table there, running her finger across the old wood. She sat down next to it, closing her eyes and resting her brain. She needed to stop thinking, about the past, about the future, and even about the present, really. She began to relax into her chair, her frustration melting away along with her chill.

And then a very tiny hand pulled at her tunic, and her eyelids flew open to look down at the little person that hand belonged to.

Cassandra was looking down at the Rutherford baby, staring into its big, golden eyes. She chuckled.  
“And what are you doing here, little one? Do your parents know you’ve been wandering about?” She picked up the child from under its armpits, and held it up to face her. The baby made a delightful little gurgling sound, the tiny pudgy hand reaching out for Cassandra’s nose, and hitting it’s mark ever so slightly.

“Her mother does know, actually. She wouldn’t be wandering around without me or Cullen far behind her, what kind of parents do you think we are?” Cassandra turned her head to see Lavellan walking up to her from behind.

She had grown a bit since they had last seen each other, and Cassandra was pleased how the years had done nothing to hide her beauty. Ellana reached out for her daughter, and Cassandra passed the child to her, the baby making a delighted squeal as it went back to her mother’s arms.

“I would never think of you or Cullen as terrible parents. Cullen was always meant to be a father, it seemed,” said Cassandra.

Ellana tucked the child into the crook of her right arm, using what remained of her left to lean on the table.

“He is, isn’t he?” she said, looking adoringly at her daughter. “He wants another one, you know. I told him that another one isn’t happening until Mirala can walk and talk on her own.”

Cassandra hummed in agreement. “So much has changed since we were last here together,” she murmured softly.

Ellana laughed. “True. I still had a left arm. I wasn’t married yet. And you weren’t sleeping with Varric.” Cassandra felt her cheeks heat up. “When exactly were you going to tell everyone that? I think Dorian would have come down from Tevinter personally to congratulate you,” Lavellan grinned, bouncing her child slightly on her hip.

“Ugh.” Cassandra leaned on the table, her head in her hand. “Don’t remind me. I’d prefer not to imagine Dorian’s gloating until he is right in front of me.”

Ellana’s laugh tinkled lightly. “Alright. But still. Leliana said you and Varric have been together for how long? And you’ve told no one?”

“Not true! Varric’s friends in Kirkwall knew. I think, anyway. And Leliana knew, and Bran, and I think Josephine-“

“So, you told the bare minimum of people and just decided that, one day, we would all be spontaneously invited to the wedding?”

Cassandra lifted a finger. “Considering the lack of choice I had in this entire ordeal, no. That was not our plan.”

“Did you _have_ a plan?”

Cassandra paused, “We hadn’t exactly thought that far yet,”

Ellana gave a skeptical look. “You didn’t have a plan for how long?”

“Four years,” Cassandra said, resigned.

“Nice going there,”

Cassandra groaned, and the baby gurgled happily, grabbing at her mother’s pointed ears.

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think anyone will find the news a surprise.” Ellana paused. “They won’t be surprised about the relationship, I mean. The wedding part, though, that’s surprising.”

“That was Leliana. It’s why I’m simply waiting for Varric, he’s much better at debating anyone than I am. He has his way with words.” Cassandra laughed to herself, thinking back on some of their letters.

Ellana tilted her head closer to the fire, the light illuminating her smile. “I never thought I’d see you truly smitten with anything but a book, Cassandra. It’s sweet,”

The doors to Skyhold’s hall creaked open, and both women turned towards it, with the baby continuing to babble to itself and play with Ellana’s face and jewelry.

“Cassandra? Smitten? Where?” A booming voice echoed through the hall, and Varric strutted through the doors, Bianca slung across his back, with a cheeky smile on like it was nothing.

Cassandra stood immediately, smiling just a little more than she had been. Ellana turned in her seat, still held immobile by the child in her lap, but smiled all the same.

“We were just wondering when you would show up and protect Cassandra from the big bad Divine.”

“Ahem. Inquisitor-“ Cassandra started, but Ellana cut her off.

“ _Former_ Inquisitor. And she mentioned your wonderful way with words, Varric, it was-“

“ _Former Inquisitor Lavellan_ ,” Cassandra rushed out, as she blushed yet again, “May I please have a moment to greet my…. fiancé.” She had said it out loud now. There was no turning away from it now, she had said it and that made it just a little bit more real.

Ellana stopped talking though, and got up, resettling the child onto her hip. The little girl squealed, and this time reached out to Cassandra as Lavellan took her away, making grabby hands at her.

“Good luck you two! You’ll need it!” Ellana called behind her, and soon she had disappeared off in the direction of her rooms - she and Cullen had recently reacquainted themselves with the place, although Ellana had suggested giving it to Cassandra and Varric as a sort of lover’s retreat. Cassandra had respectfully declined.

They were alone in the hall now, and Varric turned his smile onto Cassandra with its full intensity. “Miss me?” he said, taking a step forward.

Cassandra didn’t say anything, she just quickly closed the distance between them and lay a breathtaking kiss on his lips, taking them in a fervor. His kissed her back, pulling her down just a little more so his neck didn’t crane so much, and giving himself a little more leverage. His hand made its way to her bent waist. His tongue traced the inner line of her lips, and she opened them, giving herself over completely.

After several long moments, she pulled back, and rested her forehead against his for a moment. “Leliana has started to plan a wedding when no one has proposed, and I am constantly assaulted by Josephine’s enabling and the ridiculously adorable family that Cullen and Ellana have started to build. And I am powerless to combat them unless I duel them, which I think would be a poor idea. So I need your words.”

Varric laughed, his thumb stroking her skin lightly, before she pulled away and straightened up. His hand was still on her waist. “Glad to know I’m not just a pretty face and a warm bed to you, Seeker. Are you sure you wanted to summon me here to be your attack dog to them though? I’ve always had a soft spot for Ruffles and Nightingale.”

Cassandra rolled her eyes. “I also figured you would most likely want a hand in the proceedings of your own wedding. Am I wrong?”

Varric scoffed. “You? Wrong? Never. Well, except for that time with Hawke-“ Cassandra groaned and Varric smiled, letting his hand linger on her waist before pulling away from her completely. “I have to go get my things off the horse - by the way, never again. Dwarves on full sized horses are a horrible idea. Where am I staying?”

Cassandra bit her lip. “Well, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to share with me or not, but since an Orlesian dignitary apparently destroyed my room, we will be sharing your old room.” She stopped, then added hastily, “If you don’t mind. I’m sure we can fix up other rooms, if you need your own-“

“Seeker, I think we’re far past sharing a room, don’t you think?”

Cassandra took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I?”

Varric took her hand, and kissed her palm. “Yes. But this whole situation is ridiculous, so I think you have a bit of a right to be.” She gave him a soft smile, but something about his comment left a bad taste in her mouth.

“Go, get your things, so we can talk to Leliana. Maybe you can talk some sort of sense into her.” She pulled away, walking back to the door that led to the war room. She was halfway across the room when she heard the doors bang shut, and she realized that she hadn’t told him that she was glad that he was here.

 

* * *

 

 

Varric closed the door to his room behind him, and sighed. He had set himself up in there, but he realized halfway through that the room was simply not made for two people to live in together. He thought wistfully of a larger room, his one in the Viscount’s keep, or even his old room in the Hanged Man that he still kept for emergencies. This room would certainly keep him and Cassandra cozy though, which he really had no complaints about.

He walked down the hall, winding the familiar path to the main hall. Leliana had note a left on his desk telling him that they had set themselves up in the war room. Varric had laughed at the fact that his wedding was apparently being given as much importance as the strategy to save Thedas.

He hadn’t thought about what he would say to Leliana in the week and a half it has taken to get here. He wasn’t angry with her - not really. He was annoyed he hadn’t gotten to actually propose to Cassandra, and at the uncertainty of the whole situation. Cassandra’s purpose in bringing him here seemed to be to talk her out of this.

There was no question in his mind whether he wanted to marry Cassandra - he had bought a small golden band from the Hightown market almost six months ago. He had kept it a false bottom in one of his dresser drawers, paranoid about anyone seeing it. Occasionally, he had taken it out to look at, and think about asking her.

He just didn’t know if she would say yes. And, from past experience, he knew that ‘yes’ didn’t always hold up anyway.

And his imaginary bubble of asking her was always popped when he started to consider the reasons why they couldn’t get married, which was a very, very long list. And every time he thought about it, a new problem would be added to it.

“Doesn’t seem to be stopping Nightingale,” he murmured to himself.

He slowed as he approached the closed doors to the war room. He could hear the muffled sounds of Josephine and Leliana talking and laughing and he imagined Cassandra’s grimace at the whole thing.  
He entered the room to find the entire war table covered in swatches of pastel fabrics. He had his work cut out for him.

“Varric! I’m so glad you could join us! There’s still so much to plan and so many people to invite and a date to be set - would you like a summer wedding? Or fall?” Josephine said, already off at a rapid pace. Varric could feel her excitement simply waiting to bubble over, and no one was doing anything to stop her.

He paused, taking a survey of the room. Josephine was standing to one side of the room, a very large scroll in one hand, her quill in the other. Leliana was standing not far from her, and Varric was surprised to see her not in full divine garb. The hat had been carefully left on the war room table, the other various wedding items surrounding it. The other three people were sat around the rest of the table, with Cullen holding the baby he had seen earlier. He shot Varric a brief look of pity before returning his attention to his daughter. Varric noted the resemblance between the two in the girl’s mass of curly hair. The Inquisitor was seated not far from them. Unlike her husband, she seemed to have no sympathy whatsoever for his predicament, instead watching him with a look of undisguised amusement.

And then there was Cassandra, seated directly across from where Josephine was standing. Her head was in her hand, and she was looking desperate at this point to leave. She glared at him pointedly, as if she were expected him to start debating the entire affair with both Josephine and Leliana.

He turned towards Josephine, and considered his options. On one hand, he could just sit and let this happen while he tried to figure out how to either tell Leliana that she couldn’t just force people to get married, or tell Cassandra that he did want to get married. Or he could start arguing with the two of them, get everyone involved all worked up, and possibly insult Cassandra in the process of trying to lie and say he didn’t want to marry her.

“Fall sounds nice in Skyhold, I think.” He motioned to the scroll in her hand. “What’s that?”

Josephine opened the scroll. It kept going, and going and going, until she eventually let go of the bottom of it to let the damn thing hit the floor.

“This,” she said with delight, “is the guest list.”

Varric groaned internally, and resigned himself to the adventures of wedding planning.


	3. Chapter 3

“Loren Pentaghast?”

“No,” Cassandra said.

“Sebastian Vael?”

“No,” Varric said.

“The de Launcets?”

“ _No,_ ” they both said in exasperation, and Varric slumped back in his chair, his head throbbing.

They had been sitting in the War Room for hours now. They had started with the sun high above them, and now, they were working by candlelight. They had been doing this for three days straight, just working through who would be invited and who would not.

Josephine gave an exasperated huff. “You can’t forbid all the nobility of Thedas from coming to your wedding. You are two of the most important people in Thedas, so everyone who thinks that they’re important is going to expect an invitation.”

Varric raised an eyebrow. “I think you vastly overestimate how important Cassandra and I are to the rest of Thedas.”

“Really?” Josephine raised an eyebrow, and Leliana laughed. “You are the Viscount of Kirkwall and one of the most popular writers in court. And you, Cassandra, were the right hand to Divine Justinia, as well as one of the leading candidates to replace her, not to mention the current leader of the Order of the Seekers, and a Pentaghast to boot! And you were both prominent members of the Inquisition, which was arguably one of the most powerful political and martial forces ever assembled!”

“And it’s quite a love story you two have. It captivated the Orlesian court for months, the idea of two people who were so at odds simply falling into each other’s arms,” Leliana added, smirking. “It seemed quite romantic. There was some very interesting fiction going around the courts a year or so ago, in fact. No specific names were used, but...” Leliana shrugged.

“Oh no,” He head Cassandra groan. Varric shot a quick look over to her, and her face was bright red and in her hands. He considered reaching out a hand to her, but remembered the glares she had been aiming at him all day and decided against it.

“Okay, ignoring the fact that apparently Orlesian nobles have written fiction about us, which is something that I did _not_ need to know, I still reserve the right to only invite people I actually like to my own wedding,” Varric said.

Josephine frowned, and walked around the table. “Varric, if this were a less important wedding, I would have no objection to that. But do you know how people would react if you two just eloped? I went through that already with the Inquisitor - former Inquisitor, and Cullen -” Josephine made an exasperated gesture to the Inquisitor and Cullen (Varric wasn’t sure why he was even there, actually, considering that Cullen usually solved things with blunt force rather than a delicate hand) and the couple gave her a sheepish look. “- and it was a nightmare!”

“I never said we were going to elope! Let’s just not invite every noble in Thedas! Especially the ones we don’t like! We can invite some nobles, like Hawke, or Dorian! We like them!”

Josephine looked at him with complete unamusement. “Varric, I wish I could negotiate the noble presence at the ceremony, but we have been at this for three days. Eventually you two are going to have to accept that the presence of nobility at your wedding is unavoidable.”

Varric considered this, and was about to counter with another quip, but Cassandra stood, her face still bright red. “We should continue this tomorrow, and stop wasting candles. Frankly, I’m getting tired of this anyway.” She sighed, and walked out without another word. Before she disappeared Varric saw the tension and frustration in her stance, the glower in her eyes.

He looked back at the others. “I guess that’s it for today, then. I… should probably go after her, shouldn’t I?” Varric said, knowing the answer. Leliana nodded softly.

He got up and was out the door in a moment, catching the tail end of Cassandra slamming the door to Josephine’s former office. He sighed, but followed after her, and eventually caught up to her in the main hall.

“Cassandra, wait!” She slowed to a halt, and turned her anger on him.

“Why are you playing along with all of this? Why are you tolerating hours upon hours of this dribble?” she demanded, her voice as sharp as a blade. It echoed off the stone of the hall, and Varric moved closer to her while she continued. “You should have talked to Leliana about this by now, we should have. Then we can all leave all of this all behind, and you can go back to Kirkwall and I can go back to the Seekers, and everything can go back to the way it was.”

Varric winced. “Shit, Cassandra, why don’t you tell me how you really feel?” Cassandra scoffed at his glibness. “If you’re so intent on ending this whole thing before it starts, why don’t you talk to Leliana. She’s your friend!”

“She’s your friend too, Varric! And I have never had your way with words,”

Varric gave a short laugh. “I don’t think it takes a lot to say ‘Most Holy, maybe you shouldn’t force your friends into marriage!’ Easy as pie!”

“Stop joking!” Cassandra was now yelling, her first clenched by her side. Varric hadn’t seen her like this in years, and it reminded him of the first time they had met, where she had pushed him down in a chair and cut through his words with a literal dagger.

Cassandra walked towards him. “You can never just answer my questions can you?”

“You’ve known that since the day we met, _Seeker,_ ” he emphasized, and he knew he was playing dirty now, “You aren’t marrying me for me straightforwardness.”

‘I don’t even _know_ why I’m marrying you! I don’t even know why I told you, since you clearly aren’t going to try and do anything to stop this!” Cassandra was now towering over him, and he craned his neck up to look her in the eyes.

“Cassandra, you’ve never been one to beat around the bush, why don’t you just say you don’t want to marry me, declare it to the whole world, and we can go home and ignore that this ever happened!”  
Cassandra flushed redder. “That is _not_ what I said, and do not twist my words. But if you want to leave then why don’t you!”

“If you don’t want this then why don’t you leave! I’ve never known Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera-“

“Oh just stop with the middle names!”

“- Filomena Pentaghast to do something she didn’t want. If you don’t want this, then just admit it!” Varric’s heart was begging her not to say it, but he was ignoring that for the moment.

She looked so angry and so pained, and Varric can’t imagine she looked much better, “Do you want me to say that I don’t want to marry you? Will you be satisfied then?”

Varric’s thought stopped in its tracks. _No, Maker no, that’s not what I meant-_

“Ahem,” They both turned, to see a young man meekly stepping through the door, and Varric vaguely recognized the man. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s a man who’s come-“

“Who’s come to see his two dear friends united in holy matrimony, and tell them that I told them so almost seven years ago!” The door swung open behind the messenger, and Dorian swooped in, a huge smile on his face.

A deafening silence filled the hall. Dorian stood, expecting praise for a moment. Cassandra glared at Varric, her eyes not moving from him. And Varric glared right back, not flinching from her in the slightest. No one moved an inch for that moment.

Then Dorian dropped the flamboyance, looking between the couple with worry. “Oh dear, what have I missed? What happened?”

Cassandra didn’t respond, she just scoffed at Dorian and stormed out the door, off to Maker knows where. Varric guessed she wouldn’t be headed back to their shared room at the moment. She stormed out the doors and Varric watched her go, watched her back as she got farther and farther away. This time, he knew that he probably shouldn’t go after her.

The former Inquisitor walked into the room, her arms wide open and a smile on her face. “Dorian! How are you here, it’s wonderful to see you! You look so-“ She stopped, looking at each of the people left in the room. Varric, staring at the door, drained, and Dorians shocked face, and the poor messenger caught in the middle. “Oh no. Where’s Cassandra?”

“Off hitting a dwarf shaped dummy right now, probably,” Varric mumbled, “I’m going to go… take a walk, I don’t know. I need to think.” Varric walked off towards the side door, where the damned elf Solas had painted his mural, taking the path that led to the parapets around Skyhold. He needed to clear his head. He needed to think about what he had said, and hate himself a little bit more for a while.

 

* * *

 

 

Cassandra sat in the small room she shared with Varric. It was the only place she could go, really. She didn’t have her own room, and she didn’t want to go off and train. He anger wasn’t the kind where she felt like hitting someone. It was a deep smolder that rested in the wounds of Varrics words.

She rested by the fireplace in the room, trying to calm down. She held a book in front of her, Swords and Shields. It was the last chapter Varric had written, not published widely. He had had a special edition printed for her, almost a year ago now. He had left it for her one morning, when he had woken up earlier than her for a change, with a small note tucked inside.

_My Dearest Cassandra,_

_While my publisher won’t give it the time of day anymore, you deserve to know how the story ends._

_Yours,_  
_Varric_

She kept the note with the book as she traveled, and it ended up being one of her favorite chapters. He had finished it with great sweeping romantic gestures on both sides, the Knight-Captain and her beau then walking off into the sunset, a wedding ring on her hand, a bright future ahead of them.

Cassandra laughed bitterly to herself. Her story was certainly not ending with the two of them riding off into the sunset together, madly in love and a beautiful future in front of them. Varric hadn’t even gotten her a ring.

Cassandra guessed that was mostly because he hadn’t even considered it. The idea of them getting married was still so ludicrous that a ring had never crossed his mind. It certainly hadn’t crossed hers until now.

She caressed the cover of the book, well worn by now. She did adore this book, just as she adored all of his books. He had such a talent for manipulating words, and in her opinion it was his best skill. He was able to use them with such finesse, the same way he worked that damned crossbow.

And yet now he was refusing to use them. He kept side-stepping the subject of talking to Leliana, and seemed to want to avoid doing anything at all.  
It was almost as if he really did want to marry her, and Cassandra didn’t know what to think of that.

She had always dismissed the notion of the two of them getting married very, very quickly. She had listed off the reasons to Leliana - the constant distance, her career, his role as Viscount. And yet, Cassandra had never considered if she wanted to get married.

She looked down at the romance novel again. It was one of many that she had read over the years, and while she loved them, they almost always ended the same way. They ended with the couple falling into one another’s arms and living happily ever after. And it had always left a sour taste in her mouth, because there must be _something_ after that.

She had asked her uncle once, when she was still at home, what was supposed to happen after. And he had looked away from his work for a moment, and leaned down to look at her in the eyes. “Most of the time, they have children, and then someone stays home to take care of them. Most of the time, it’s the mother. That’s what your mother did, for a while, although politics is a far easier career to balance with motherhood than, say, dragon hunting.” Then he’d turned back to his work and gone on ignoring her. Cassandra had been horrified.

That, she had known even then, was something she never wanted. She never wanted to lose her own agency because she was in love. And after she had become a Seeker of Truth, she had resigned herself to simply never being married.

And now she was being thrust into it. It was a ridiculous irony that she was sure Varric would appreciate.

She sighed, and put the book carefully back in her bag, covering it up with her clothing. Then she returned to sitting by the fire, consumed in her own thoughts and questions. She wished it was a problem she could easily solve by hitting something.

 

* * *

 

 

“So you’re telling me that Leliana is the one actually orchestrating their marriage, and the two of them are too ridiculous to admit that they both want to go through with this?” Dorian asked as Ellana handed him a glass of wine. He carefully took a sip while she settled in the chair next to him. She poured herself a glass, and set the bottle between them on the side table.

Ellana nodded, “And now, it seems, that they’ve started fighting about it because they won’t admit it. I believe Cullen went out to talk to Varric about the whole thing, but I’m leaving Cassandra alone for now. It’s what she needs.”

Dorian shook his head. “When Cullen is giving you romantic advice, you know you’re bad at this.”

Ellana laughed. “He charmed me!”

“That’s because you seem to find his awkwardness attractive. Also, his hair is excellent, I will give him that.” They laughed, and Dorian drank again, leaning back.

“So the entire situation here is a clusterfuck right now. Wish I’d known that before bursting in, really.”

“How did you even know to come, Dorian? Leliana hasn’t even sent out invitations, she’s only invited people to start planning the wedding.”

Dorian smiled. “And what makes you think I’m not here to help plan the wedding? I do have excellent taste, after all.”

“Because I know who the last person asked to help plan this wedding is, and it’s certainly not you,” Ellana said, giving a small, secretive smirk.

“Not going to share?”

“Nope!” she said, ridiculously gleeful. “So, talk. How did you know to come.”

“Oh, fine,” Dorian sighed. “When you last used the crystal, I heard Cullen in background mention you packing things for your trip to Skyhold before you cut off. Now, I was curious, because why go back to Skyhold? So, I asked Maeveris for a favor, and she told me that Leliana, Josephine, you and Cullen, and to my surprise, Cassandra and Varric were all going. So, I thought about why this group would ever be in the same place at once, and then I realized- What else? Cassandra and Varric must finally be getting married!” Dorian finished his explanation with a vague gesture with his hands, as if to say ‘there!’

Ellana thought about that for a moment, “So, you guessed?”

“An educated guess!”

“You completely _guessed_ , based off of the ridiculous assumption that we would only come together for Varric and Cassandra’s marriage, even though they weren’t publicly together-“

“Oh please, do you really think that Leliana wouldn’t send a message to me the minute it happened? Really? I had bets to collect on about that!”

Ellana continued, ignoring his interjection. “-and you somehow guessed _right_?”

Dorian gave her a smug look. “I’m _amazing,_ aren’t I?”

She shook her head. “I have to learn to never, ever underestimate you, Dorian. Cheers.” She raised her glass, and Dorian followed suit.

“Cheers to my wonderful detective skills. Cassandra should recruit me as a Seeker.” They clinked their glasses together and drank.

“Actually,” Dorian said, finishing his drink, “strike that, I never want to be a seeker.” Ellana laughed, and the two chatted away for the rest of the night, watching the fireplace dim into embers.

 

* * *

 

  
Varric walked the parapets in the darkness, lit only by the torches at each tower. He hadn’t yet gone back to his room, _their_ room, worried that she would be there. He hated arguing with her, and they did it so rarely now that it felt even worse when it did happened.

If she wasn’t in their room, he wouldn’t fault her for having just packed up and left. He had been an absolute jackass to her, when she had been absolutely right in every single thing she said. He hadn’t answered her questions, he had twisted her words, and he had taunted her and picked at her while trying to avoid the truth.

“You fucked up this time, Tethras, that’s for sure,” he said out loud to himself, and he leaned as much as he could over the side of Skyholds walls.

He looked up into the night sky, tracing all of the constellations he knew with his eyes. Unfortunately, he didn’t know many, so it didn’t distract him for long.

Before he ran out of constellations though, he heard footsteps on the walkway behind him, and he turned around to face whomever was walking towards him.

“Curly? What are you doing out this late?” Varric asked, a bit perplexed. Cullen was walking towards him at a leisurely pace, his blonde hair glinting in the low lights.

“I could ask the same of you, but I think I heard the answer earlier,” Varric winced at Cullens comment. The former Commander walked up to him, and leaned on the wall next to Varric, looking down at him.

“Yeah well, Cassandra is Cassandra, and I’m apparently a jackass who can’t do anything right,” Varric said.

“That’s a bit unfair towards you, really,” Cullen said lightly, and Varric gave him a withering look. Cullen shrugged. “That’s not what I came out to talk to you about anyway. Well, it has something to do with it, but-“

“Curly.” Varric cut him off, out of pity really. “Just spit it out.”

Cullen blushed slightly. “This went over so much better in my head. I came out here to talk to you about proposing,”

Varric raised an eyebrow, “Proposing? You mean, the thing I don’t get to do because Leliana did it for me?”

Cullen chuckled, “Sort of. But, well, I heard part of the fight between you and Cassandra in the main hall today. And while I‘m not the best person to be giving relationship advice, right now I’m the only one in Skyhold who has actually proposed to someone.”

“Didn’t you propose by accident though?”

“Well it wasn’t by accident really- and I did have something planned out!”

Varric chuckled at this, “I believe you Curly, don’t worry. But I don’t think I need any advice on proposing, since I _can’t_.”

“Varric, do you want to marry Cassandra?” Cullen asked him bluntly, and that pierced Varric’s armor.

Varric paused. “You know, no one here has actually asked me that. You think someone would have by now.”

“Well, I’m asking now. Do you want to marry Cassandra Pentaghast or not?”

Varric thought about evading the question, but simply gave a tired sigh. “Yes. Yes, I very much do. I don’t know for how long now, but I’ve had the ring for six months.”

There was silence between them for a moment, processing the finality of Varric’s words.

“If you do want to, then you need to tell her. And I think you need to ask her if she wants to marry you as well, because I don’t think anyone has bothered to ask her, either.” And with that, Cullen walked away, leaving Varric with a lot more to think about than he’d had five minutes ago.

Varric considered for a long moment. “Damn, Curly, sometimes you can actually have a way with words.”


	4. Chapter 4

Varric sat in the loneliness of his room the next morning, sifting through the papers he had brought with him. When he had come back to the room, Cassandra had been fast asleep in bed, her back turned towards the door. Varric had taken the hint, and instead slept in the chair by the fire. When he woke, he had found himself covered in a blanket, and he knew that he wasn’t absolutely fucked over.

He had taken a lot of papers with him to Skyhold, most of which had been work that Bran had pushed on him as he was rushing out the door. Things he needed to sign, letters he needed to reply to.

But there was a small collection of pages that he had kept wrapped up and carefully stowed in his bag. They were Cassandra’s letters to him, and safely hidden among them was the ring.

He picked up one of the letters.

_Varric,_

_Sometimes I think you are too kind with your words to me, considering I am never actually there. I wish I could have stayed longer this time, but I am glad for the days we did have together. I have not spent so long simply relaxing since my last visit. It is nice, to spend hours in bed, and then spend the rest of the day walking the city of Kirkwall. I never thought I could grow to love the city, but with you as my guide, occasionally accompanied by Merrill or Isabela, I find it hard not to want to spend longer._

_But duty calls, unfortunately. I hate to say it, but I miss you at my side already._

_Yours, yours, yours,_

_Cassandra_

Varric thought back on that visit, smiling sadly. It had been the last time he’d seen her before this all went down, and she had been forced to leave early, called away on business to Val Royeaux.

Her letters had always been shorter, something she had attributed to her lack of finesse with words. Varric had always thought she sold herself short, since her letters always made his heart skip a beat when Bran brought one to him.

He picked up another letter, and began to read.

_Varric,_

_I am missing you more and more lately, and your letters have been just encouraging that longing, that aching. Your last letter especially, with the vivid descriptions of your tongue and that trick you do-_

Varric quickly put down the letter, a slight blush on his face. Now was not the time to be reading that response, although he remembered it very fondly. He set that one aside, burying it under some of the other letters, and one caught his eye.

_Varric,_

_It is good to hear from you. I was worried that, after my last visit, communications would be… awkward. I do not want to ruin our friendship (such an odd place to be, after all this time) but what happened was something I do not want to forget. I want us to continue what this is, if it has a name. I will not let us just write it off as a night of drinking._

_Please tell me you feel the same._

_-Cassandra_

Varric chuckled. It had been her first reply after she had kissed him, tipsy and giggly. And he had kissed her back, and had kept kissing and kissing. He had certainly not been sober either, but he never regretted it. The minute she had pressed her lips against his, he realized that he was so far gone. He had begun to notice the glint in her eye when she was challenged, her smirk when he made a joke. The way she phrased things in her letters, so determined to get it just right.

He loved the way she would bite her lip just a little bit when she was thinking. He loved the way she could convey everything she wanted to say with just a look. She had the most expressive eyes, and while it made her a shit Wicked Grace player, Varric wouldn’t change it for the world. As much as she hated admitting it, she wore her heart on her sleeve.

He took a look at the ring again, which had become unburied from all the shuffling of papers. It glinted in the morning light, the small delicate stone on top reflecting into his eyes. It was a simple, small thing. Varric had chosen it so she could wear it comfortably under her gloves or on a chain around her neck.

He sighed, and picked it up, fiddling with it. He thought back on what Cullen had said the night before. That no one had asked Cassandra if she wanted to get married, and he hadn’t actually told her that it was what he wanted. He had just assumed that she hadn’t wanted it, but had gone along with it anyway to play into his distant fantasy of them actually getting married.

He had been sure that she didn’t want to marry him, or wouldn’t, or couldn’t. He hadn’t bought the ring to be used, just to be a ‘what if?’, a nice fantasy for him to think about. He hadn’t actually considered the thought that she might want to marry him.

Varric looked back at the letters scattered on the table, and then at the ring.

“Dammit, I love her,” he said under his breath, and he got up, and was out the door, the ring tucked into his pocket.

 

* * *

 

 

Cassandra took another slash at the dummy in the courtyard, a harsh cry coming out of her mouth. She seemed to always end up here, hacking and slashing away at straw targets. She had left at the break of dawn, after waking up and finding herself alone in bed. After a moment of sadness, her eyes had searched the room, finding Varric tucked away in the only chair in the room. Her eyes had softened when she saw him there, and she took pity on him, pulling a blanket from the bed to cover him.

She knew it would be too easy for her to forgive him when they spoke again, but she didn’t know where to go from there. She could not just stand to the side in her own marriage, and she still didn’t know if it was something Varric even wanted. It was an impossible conundrum, and Cassandra took another whack at the dummy for good measure.

Sparring was easy. You either hit the target or you didn’t. Battle was easy, you either won or you didn’t. Marriage and politics, was much too complicated. It was never a hit or miss, there was too much grey involved.

“I see that the training dummies here are finally being used again, after all this time. I can’t imagine many nobles trying to murder an entire army of straw,” Cassandra looked up, to see Dorian standing behind her, the sun lighting his face. She had not really looked at him yesterday, too blinded by her anger, but seeing him now, she realized how different he looked. His hair was longer now, pulled back into a ponytail, and she could see a single, elegant streak of what might be grey, if it wasn’t tucked away. He had kept the mustache though, and Cassandra wasn’t sure if that was his wisest decision.

“I suppose they must not get much use anymore, no,” Cassandra said, with a heavy breath. She let her guard down, letting her sword and shield rest at her sides. “What do you want, Dorian?”

“I can’t just come for a friendly chat?” He came closer now that she was no longer brandishing a pointy object, and she rolled her eyes.

“No. At least not at a time like this,” she responded.

He sighed dramatically. “Oh fine, you’ve caught me. I want to talk to you about your engagement - and I feel like you need someone to talk to, instead of hitting this dummy all day like it will solve all of your problems.”

She glowered at him. “Do not think I won’t try,”

“Was that a joke? I think that was almost a joke! Varric _has_ had an effect on you, amazing!”

Cassandra made a disgusted noise, and went back to hitting the dummy with incredible fervor. “Go away, Dorian. I have no desire to talk to anyone right now, especially not about my forceful engagement.”

“So you admit that it was forceful? That you don’t want it?”

She stopped mid-movement. “I didn’t say that!”

Dorian looked at her, interested. “Then please, do tell me what you mean. I’m all ears.” He folded his arms and leaned against the dummy, preventing her from taking another swing at it without hitting him. She considered it anyway.

Cassandra sighed, once again putting down her sword. “I do not know if I can definitively say if I want to get married or not. But I don’t like being forced into anything, especially something as important as marriage. I know Leliana has good intentions, but…” She trailed off, and Dorian gave her a sympathetic look.

“You want to be sure that you want to get married, don’t you? And that it’s to a person you really love?” he asked. Cassandra bit her lip, considering it for a moment, then she nodded, and Dorian sighed. “Oh Cassandra, you always were a romantic under that armor. It’s quite adorable, actually.”

“ _Dorian._ ”

He raised his hands defensively. “Alright, alright. But that leads to another question. While I know the answer, and the rest of the world knows, I’m not sure you do.”

“I’m afraid to ask,” Cassandra said, completely deadpan.

“Do you love Varric enough to marry him?”

Cassandra huffed. “That is not the point! We do not even have the means to live together, we both have important duties separate from each other, I’m not even sure if Varric would even want to marry me-“

“Alright, I’m stopping you right there.” Dorian pushed away from the dummy and faced Cassandra head on. “If you think Varric doesn’t love you enough to marry you, you are a terrible Seeker. It is literally the one of the most obvious facts in the world! The sky is blue! Fereldens love dogs! Varric thinks that Cassandra shits sunshine!”

Cassandra scoffed. “You are exaggerating.”

“Normally, yes, I would be, but this time I am really not. But you still haven’t answered my question!”

“That’s because it’s not relevant!” She put her shield and sword down carefully, before crossing her arms across her chest.

“Cassandra, you are literally in the process of planning this wedding! I think it’s very relevant!” Dorian said, clearly getting exasperated. Cassandra considered it for a moment, before relenting.

“I have never considered the option. I always dismissed to idea too quickly to really think about it.”

“Well, now is the time to consider it, since you have some of the most important people in Thedas on your guest list.” Dorian relaxed a little, and put a hesitant hand on Cassandra’s shoulder. “If you want to marry Varric, let him know. If not, then do what you do best, and yell at people until you get your point across.”

She thought for a moment, chewing lightly on her bottom lip. It was a bad habit from childhood she had never grown out of. “I… Thank you, Dorian. I will consider it. I need the time to think though.”

He smiled, the tension bleeding out of him. “I’m glad I could help. And just so you know, I’m only helping you out for my personal gain. If you were any other couple in Thedas, I would leave you to figure yourselves out. But I have too much riding on you two getting married to let it get fucked over when I’m _this close_.”

Cassandra looked at him, appalled. “Did you seriously just talk me into getting married because of a bet?”

Dorian’s grin became much more cheeky, “Well that, and the fact that I have become ridiculously invested in the two of you over the years. Shocking, I know, but true,”

Cassandra stared after him as he walked away, at a bit of a loss for words.

But her left her with something to think about, and once she got over the fact that she was being manipulated by possibly every person who cared for her, she sat in thought, leaning on her shield in her lap.

“Marry Varric,” she said, mumbling to herself as she considered.

She had never said she loved him, because it had never been asked of her. Since the beginning of their relationship, they had never discussed what they were, and no one ever really asked. They were, and that was what she knew.

They had been together for four years. Four years of letters and month long visits, each one ending with her heartstrings pulled harder and harder every time she had to leave.

Theirs was not like the romances she had read in books. No grand declarations or months of formal courting. It was as easy as breathing for her.

“Cassandra?” She looked up, and Varric was standing in front of her, his eyes hesitant. She stood abruptly and her shield slipped off of her lap, clattering to the ground. She blushed slightly.

“Varric, what are you - what do you want?” she said quickly, picking up her shield.

He rubbed the back of his neck, not quite meeting her eyes. She noticed that he didn’t seem like he was properly put together yet that day, like he had rushed out of the room before he was ready. “I wanted to talk, that’s all. Care for a stroll around Skyhold?”

Cassandra nodded. “Yes, I - I think that’s a good idea. Let me just put this away. Somewhere.” She took her sword and shield into the forge. She dusted herself off and checked her warped reflection in the shield. She tried fixing her hair, but part of it still stuck up, and she huffed. It would have to do.

She rejoined Varric, and motioned for him to go first, then she followed him, slowly. “What did you wish to talk about, Varric?” She noticed the way the sun glinted off of his necklace, the same way it glinted off his hair. Maker, she loved the color of his hair.

“Well, first - I figured I should apologize for yesterday. I was more than a little bit of a prick, and you didn’t deserve that.” He gave her a sheepish look. “Especially not with all of the stress of what’s going on right now.”

“Ah - thank you, Varric. But you do not have much to apologize for. Neither of us are blameless in that argument. I shouldn’t have been so demanding.”

He gently took her hand in his as they walked along, and entered the main hall. She ran her thumb over one of the many callouses he had there, from writing, from wielding Bianca. His hands were rough, and blocky, and yet they were so gentle whenever he touched her.

“Yeah, well, you have the right to be a little demanding at this point. This whole situation is a bit fucked up, isn’t it?” He laughed a little and she gave him a small, soft smile. When he saw it, he smiled back at her, more broadly than she ever did.

She loved his smile. She loved the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed. She loved when they had a little mischief in them, because she’d seen them when they looked so hopeless and it broke her heart.

She loved his jokes, even when they were bad. She loved his stories. She loved his words, she loved his loyalty.

She looked down at Varric once more. She loved him. She loved him, and would marry him, and it felt like a dam had broken in her mind. She laughed, just a little, and Varric looked up at her, his smile turning wry.

“You find it that funny? I’ll have to make a note of that, put it on my list of ‘Things that make Cassandra laugh,’” he said, shaking his head.

“I was not laughing at that. I just realized something,” she said casually, squeezed Varric’s hand slightly.

“Care to share?”

“Only if you share why you wanted to take this walk, unless all you wanted to do was apologize.”

Varric sighed dramatically. “Fine, you’ve caught me. I did bring you on this walk for more than just apologizing to you, but I can’t tell you just yet.”

“Why not?” she asked, frowning, and he began to lead her up one of Skyhold’s many flights of stairs.

“Because I am going to do this right - and that includes having the right setting, dammit.”

Cassandra let that settle for a moment as she followed him up the stairs, and Varric opened the door to what had been Vivienne’s balcony. Realization slowly dawned on her.

“Varric…” she said, as he led her out onto the balcony itself.

The sun glinted off the windows in Skyhold, the snow of the mountains glittered, and it looked like a painting behind them. Cassandra was speechless.

“So, I should have probably done this earlier, considering the whole situation we’re in, but it turns out that I need a pep talk from our local ex-Templar to make me realize that I wanted this, that I really, really wanted this,” he said, his other hand in his pocket. He let go of her hand, looking up at her. Cassandra’s hand flew up to cover her mouth.

Varric got down on one knee, pulling his hand out of his pocket, a small ring clutched between his two fingers, “Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera-“

“ _Varric,_ ” she said breathlessly, laughing just a little bit. He smiled, and continued.

“-Filomena whatever-the-hell-else Pentaghast, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

There was no doubt in her mind. “Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes, until the end of my days, yes.” She pulled Varric up by his collar, kissing him with intense, absolute, relentless passion. his hands curled around her waist, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss, before breaking a away for a moment, resting their foreheads together.

“Thank the Maker, I was terrified you were going to say no. That would have made everything so much more awkward.”

She smiled, nuzzling him softly. “Do you want to know what I was laughing at, earlier?”

“Do tell.”

“What I realized on the way up here was that I love you, and that I have loved you for much too long. After realizing that, how could I ever reject you?” She kissed him again and pulled him tightly against her, wrapping her arms around him and threading her fingers through his hair.

It felt like absolute bliss for a moment, just the two of them, before a pair of voices broke through to them.

“Er, what are you two doing up there?”

“If you two are going to have make-up sex, please do it in private! There are some things no one wants to see!” Cassandra pulled away reluctantly from Varric, peering over the outer edge of the balcony. Both Cullen and Dorian were on the front steps to Skyhold, their heads held high to look up at them.

Cassandra smiled broadly. “Varric and I are getting married!”

The two men paused, looking at each other for a moment.

“I... yes? Isn’t that the reason we’re here in the first place?” Cullen said, sounding very confused.

Varric looked over the edge as well, holding up the ring so it shined in the light. “Finally got around to actually asking her about it.”

Cullen grinned broadly, chuckling a little. Dorian looked completely aghast beside him, gaping up at them.

“You had a bloody ring and you didn’t ask her before this? Are you serious, you’re both just that hopeless that you needed someone to actually start planning the wedding to actually admit that you wanted one?”

Cassandra gave him a stern look, and Dorian shut up.

Varric turned to Cassandra, holding up the ring. “May I?”

Cassandra nodded silently, taking off her glove and letting Varric slip the ring onto her left hand.  She looked at the ring, her grin wide enough to split her face, and she grabbed Varric hand in her own, pulling him along.

“Come, we must go find Leliana. She has to know, and she’ll be delighted that she can finally send out invitations.”

Varric laughed, and let himself be pulled along by his fiancée.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, how nice it is to have them on the same page for the first time in like, 12k words. Now onto more wedding stuff! Yay!


	5. Chapter 5

Leliana looked the happy couple across the war table as Cassandra and Josephine discussed her wedding dress, or rather the _lack_ of one that Cassandra was insisting on, while Varric watched with amusement. It had been almost three days since they had come to her, and Leliana noticed that Cassandra had stopped wearing her gloves, the ring a constant glint on her finger.

Leliana was satisfied at this point. The whole point in this endeavor had been to try to make Cassandra and Varric realize what they wanted. It had been less subtle than she was used to, but after years of simply watching and waiting for them to figure it out, she had grown impatient. And, she had to admit, sometimes the direct approach was just as efficient as a more clandestine move.

Cassandra was happy now, or at least content, and that, Leliana thought, was the important thing. She cared for Cassandra too much to see her stuck in a relationship limbo for years, held back by her own sense of uncertainty. It had been odd to see her so unsure about something, not knowing what to do. Cassandra had always known what she wanted, even if Leliana didn’t agree.

And then one day, Cassandra had fallen in love, and Leliana learned that her best friend was absolutely terrible in matters of the heart. So she didn’t regret forcing Varric’s hand. She knew they would figure themselves out. She knew they likely _wouldn’t_ have, if she hadn’t intervened.

Cassandra’s smile had been worth it, when they had come to tell her to send out the invitations. And the constant smile that was on Varric’s face for the first time in years.

“I see no issue in simply wearing a formal uniform to my own wedding! It is what I feel most comfortable in!” Cassandra huffed, and Leliana giggled quietly to herself.

Josephine was growing desperate. “Cassandra, I’m going to beg you, please. Wear a wedding dress.”

Cassandra put on a face that looked suspiciously like a pout. “Why should I? I despise dresses, and I see no reason to dress to please other people at my _own wedding.”_

Josephine straightened. “Well, you must know, weddings have always been held largely to make other people happy... and you have the unfortunate duty of having to impress some of the most unimpressed people in Thedas.”

“Also,” Leliana piped up, smirking just a little bit. Josephine turned to her, and saw Leliana’s smirk. Josephine paled, just barely. “Josephine really wants to see you in a dress. As do I, really; I’ve never seen you wear one. I can hire the best designers in Orlais! We will make it practical, yet still elegant enough to dazzle the masses!”

Cassandra looked appalled by the very idea. “I do not wear dresses because I hate them! I feel so uncomfortable in them, and I was forced into them much too often in my childhood.”

“What if I let you take some of the Pentaghasts off the guest list?” Josephine bargained, and Varric looked up at her incredulously.

“Ruffles, are you trying to negotiate the wedding?”

Josephine’s eyes sparkled. “You only just noticed? Believe me, you two aren’t as nearly hard to crack as the Fereldan Ambassador.”

“I… am legitimately intimidated now,” Varric said, inching his chair a little farther away from Josie.

Dorian spoke up from his position near the corner of the table, where he had his feet propped up as he fiddled with a quill. “As much as I enjoy this, and I really do, I have a question for you, Leliana.”

Leliana’s interest was piqued. “Yes, Dorian?”

Dorian sat up a little. “I was told that there was one last advisor arriving for this extravaganza, and it wasn’t me. Well, after being heartbroken for a moment that I wasn’t initially an advisor, I was curious as to who this last person is.”

“You weren’t initially an advisor because you don’t know how to plan a wedding, Dorian. I was also afraid you would encourage them to elope.” Leliana avoided the actual question with practiced grace.

“I’ll have you know my wedding planning skills are excellent. Although elopement does tend to be more entertaining. That’s not the point, however. You avoided the question. Who is this last person?”

“You didn’t say anyone else was coming just yet, Leliana,” Varric said curiously, leaning forward.

Leliana bit her lip, cursing to herself. “It was meant to be a bit of a surprise.”

“What do you mean? Who is this person-“Varric stopped his questioning, his eyes widening in realization, a smile breaking across his face. “You found her, didn’t you? You found her and got her back... are you shitting me?”

Leliana smiled back, feeling incredibly proud of herself. “It wasn’t so hard; she and Fenris aren’t exactly discreet people.”

Varric laughed, almost giddy, and Cassandra looked between the two of them. “Wait, you mean - Hawke is coming to help plan this wedding?”

“Wait, you invited a walking human disaster to advise but not me? What is wrong with all of you people!” Dorian cried out, and in his indignation, he pushed off and tipped the chair backwards, falling flat on his back. Cassandra gave an undignified short, and everyone else around the table was in various states of amusement. He popped back up, a slight red tint to his cheeks, and he glared at Leliana.

She tried not to laugh. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“Okay, but more importantly, Hawke is coming to Skyhold,” Varric said, his smile radiant, and it looked like he was clutching Cassandra’s hand under the table. Cassandra gave him a warm look, the corners of her mouth turning up.

“You invited Hawke and _didn’t tell me_?” Josephine said, most certainly not excited. “Are you trying to kill me? Because it’s working,”

Ellana and Cullen gave each other an indiscernible look as Ellana bounced Mirala on her knee. Leliana had been keenly aware of the history between Cullen and Hawke, remembering that when Hawke had last been at Skyhold, she had barely said two sentences to the Commander. She suspected it had something to do with him having been the one to take the Champion’s sister to the Circle.

But Hawke’s presence at the wedding was unavoidable, and she had thought it would be better to have Hawke there sooner rather than later.

She hoped.

“Well! On that note, why don’t we take a break while I convince Cassandra that she would look wonderful in Antivan silks!” Leliana said, clapping her hands together.

Josie had not stopped glaring at her.

For the first time in years, Leliana felt just a little bit afraid.

 

* * *

 

Varric had been a ball of energy since he found out about Hawke’s imminent arrival, and Cassandra watched him fidget with the items on his desk with mild amusement. She was lying on her stomach on their too-small bed, her chin propped up on a pillow.

“It’s been _five years_ , Cassandra, I can barely remember the last time I saw Hawke! She and Broody visited for my crowning, and then seemed to disappear into the Void for months at a time!”

She smiled, and nodded. “It’s exciting that Hawke is almost here - I still have questions to ask her about your book. And I never did actually get her to sign my copy of _The Tale of the Champion_.”

Varric raised an eyebrow. “Your copy? You mean the one that still has a knife in it?”

“I took the knife out years ago! But yes, I find that I’m far too attached to that particular copy of the book. It had become a regular item in my bag whenever I travel.” She motioned towards her pack near the fireplace.

Varric gave her a cheeky grin. “Well, it does have sentimental value. Even if the sentiment at the time was frustration and animosity.”

Cassandra sat up in bed, stretching and yawning. She had changed into her smalls and undershirt, and the fabric of her undershirt rode up just a little to show her hips. She was keenly aware of Varric’s stare.

“So when is Hawke getting here?”

Varric tore his eyes away from Cassandra, and instead looked into the fire. “Leliana said within the next couple days. Maker, I wonder how she looks after all this time. She has to be in her mid-thirties now, doesn’t she?” Varric ran a hand through his hair. “Damn, we got old fast, didn’t we? You know, I was her first friend in Kirkwall, I think.”

“It does not seem like so long, or that time has gone so fast. But time has always been fleeting.” Cassandra slowly pulled herself up, letting her legs swing around to touch the floor. “I try to find respite where I can.”

Varric turned towards her smiling just a little bit, “Like in the arms of your favorite dwarf?”

She chuckled, but held her arms out, and he went into them willingly. “It would have been hard to imagine that you would actually be my favorite dwarf so long ago, but yes. It is my favorite resting place,” She leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on his lips, and Varric enthusiastically returned it, pressing her back down onto the bed, a hand slipping up her undershirt. Cassandra made a small contented sound,  readjusting herself on the bed to let Varric climb comfortably over her, letting herself get lost in the feeling of his lips on hers and her hands in his hair. The tie had come out, letting his longer hair fall around his shoulders. She pulled him closer to her, his body pressing hard against hers.

She began to pull up the hem of Varric’s shirt, her hands tracing his chest with feather-light touches. They wandered lower and lower, and Varric groaned as they moved to more sensitive areas.

And then a voice rang out, “Viscount Tethras! Viscount Tethras!” Someone was banging rapidly on their door, and both Varric and Cassandra stopped in their tracks, Varric’s hand hovering over her breast, and her hands stopping just at the ties to his trousers.

“Go! Away!” Varric said, his hand still not moving.

“But ser, you asked us to come tell you if-“

“Unless Hawke has literally shown up at the gates and is demanding to see me right fucking now, _go away!_ ”

The voice paused, “…Ah, ser. The Champion is at the gates and is demanding to see you at this moment.”

Varrics eyes widened, and he pulled his hand out from Cassandra’s shirt. He quickly readjusted himself, giving her an apologetic look as he made his way towards the door. She rolled her eyes, pulling down her shirt a little more.

Varric cracked the door open to see the messenger, “Are you serious?” He said, and the poor messenger looked terrified.

“Um, yes ser. She’s waiting in the tavern for you.” The messenger did not move, Varric’s eyes pinning the poor boy to his spot for a moment, and Cassandra almost felt bad for the boy.

Then, Varric turned towards his desk, pulling out another leather tie and pulling his hair back, and he looked at Cassandra.

“Rain check?”

“Leave it to Hawke to show up at that exact moment.” She motioned to the door. “Go on. But do not think I will forget that rain check.” She gave a small seductive smile, and the look on Varric’s face suggested that he was contemplating getting right back into bed with her. But he readjusted his shirt one more time, and was out the door, the nervous messenger right behind him.

Cassandra sighed, and she got off the bed, and grabbed one of the books from her bag at random. It was by an Antivan romance novelist, and was not nearly as compelling as _Swords and Shields_ had been. But she opened the book and resigned herself to a quiet night in bed.

 

* * *

 

Varric was rushing across Skyhold as fast as his (admittedly short) legs could carry him. He hated leaving Cassandra like that, and certain parts of him were really fucking pissed at his brain. But his brain was more occupied by the fact that Hawke was within walking distance.

Hawke’s absence from Kirkwall since her return from Weisshaupt had left a hole in Varric’s heart. In the past decade he had gotten used to it, the dull ache and loneliness. But Bran was a poor substitute for Marian Hawke, walking catastrophe, slayer of Arishoks, Champion of Kirkwall. Really, anyone was a poor substitute.

He came to the front door of the tavern, a warm light coming from inside. He walked through without hesitation, and saw Hawke sitting at the bar, nursing a drink.

She looked fundamentally the same, same dark hair, same electric blue eyes. The swipe of red across her nose was as distinctive as ever. But her hair had grown out longer, and Varric noticed a new scar that cut across her cheek. She had bags under her eyes, her shoulders were slumped, and Varric could feel how tired she was.

She turned towards him though, and smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Varric!”

He held his arms open as he walked towards her, and she came over for a hug. “Marian Hawke, you are absolutely shit at writing me back. Or telling me your address. Or even just letting me know that you are alive and healthy in general,” he said, his voice muffled a bit by the hug. She just squeezed him tighter.

“Oh, I don’t think you can argue, since you didn’t tell me about you _own fucking wedding_ ,” she said, and let go of him. He rolled his eyes, and the two of them walked back to the bar and sat down.

“That’s not fair, since I had to be told about my own wedding. I didn’t even propose until I got here and Cassandra and I fought.”

“You seem to do that a lot, which brings me to the second thing you apparently neglected to tell me about: that you were sleeping with the Seeker who once dragged you across Thedas, almost killed you because you hid me from her, and, worst of all, stabbed your book about me!”

“She wants you to sign that for her, by the way,” Varric told her, and Hawke barked a laugh. “But it’s complicated. And I would have told you if you told me where you and Broody have decided to shack up. Where are you two staying now?”

Hawke shrugged. “We’ve actually settled somewhere for once, small town in the quietest part of Ferelden. We’ve been there for almost a year and a half, now. We’ve mostly been moving around Ferelden for the past couple years or so, trying not to travel as much.”

Varric looked at her, surprised. “Really? Why the sudden urge to settle down? And why hasn’t Ferelden fallen into ruin and destruction? Again, I mean,”

“Probably because Fenris has been keeping me out of trouble, and we’ve been keeping busy. Being a hero so young can take a lot out of you.” She took a large swig of her drink, and Varric matched her for it.

“So why isn’t he here with you? And don’t tell me he let you disappear on him again, not after last time.”

Hawke paused for a moment, and Varric saw her eyes widen just a little bit. “Well, uh, there’s a nasty fever going around our town, you know how it is,”

“...mmhm,” Varric responded, not convinced in the slightest. He wondered why she was keeping Fenris’s reason for staying home a secret, but didn’t push the subject too hard. Yet.

“Still, can we get back to the subject of Varric Tethras getting _married_? Because when I got that letter from Sister Nightingale, I was sure it was a joke. The only person less likely to get married would be Isabela, who is literally a pirate queen with massive commitment issues.”

“You know she prefers Admiral now.”

“Eh.” Hawke waved the correction away. “It sounds too official for her. Also, I can’t really imagine Isabela having any other rank besides Queen of the Seas and Destroyer of Innocence (Except When It Comes to Merrill).”

“Is that part of the title?”

“Of course!” Her hands flew up, part of her drink sloshing out onto the countertop, and Varric laughed. “Still, married? You love her that much, Varric?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I think I do. Took me a while to realize it, but I’m a little madly in love her. Is that how you felt with Fenris?”

She nodded. “It snuck up on me, after he left for the first time. Honestly, it was terrible.”

He winced, remembering the awkward days after that. “Loving Bianca was never like this. Honestly, it was a lot less complicated up than this, right up until the point where she left me for her husband.”

Hawke patted him on the back. “Well, Cassandra certainly isn’t Bianca. Although, you have weird taste in women, you know that? An engineering genius and possibly the scariest woman in all of Thedas. At this point, I’m slightly offended you were never attracted to me. Am I not enough of a risk? And don’t you dare tell me humans aren’t your type again, you bastard!” She shoved him playfully, and he rolled his eyes.

“Hawke, you’re too crazy for me even on your best days. I’ll take my warrior woman over you any day, no offense.”

“Oh, fine.  And no offense, dwarves aren’t really my type.”

“Thank the Maker. You couldn’t handle the chest hair, Hawke.” She giggled at him.

She raised her glass, smiling broadly. “Cheers, my dear friend, to falling in love with other people.”

He raised his glass as well. “And damn fine people they are.”

They drank, falling right back into conversation, and Varric noticed how easy it was to fall right back in step with Hawke, even after all this time. They talked and talked and talked, until Varric realized that the sun was peeking out from the horizon.

“Hawke, you may be an unstoppable force, but I need to sleep,” He said, pointing towards the window.

Her eyes widened, astonished at the little bit of sunlight. “Is it already morning? Andraste’s tits, I didn’t know we’d been talking that long,”

“Yeah, well, there’s a lot to catch up on when you haven’t spoken in _five years._ ”

“I said I’m sorry!”

He got up and clapped her on the back. “Goodnight, Hawke. I’ll see you in… well, I would say the morning, but it already is. So good morning, and see you in the afternoon.”

She grinned and waved him away. “Go on, rejoin your fiancée in bed, although I can’t imagine you’ll be doing much now.”

“No thanks to you showing up in the middle of the fucking night,” Varric grumbled,

“You didn’t have to come and see me! You could have stayed with her and left me here, heartbroken, to drink two beers alone!”

Varric stared at her and deadpanned, “Not overreacting there at all Hawke! Goodbye!” He waved, and was out the door before she could give him another snappy one-liner that would keep him there longer.

He dragged himself across Skyhold to his and Cassandra’s room, and he could feel the lack of sleep catching up to him fast. He quietly slipped into the room, and saw Cassandra, sound asleep with a book lying open on her chest. The fire had died down into embers, just barely illuminating the room with its faint glow.

He smiled, quickly changing into something more comfortable and sliding into bed next to Cassandra. He reached over and pulled the book off of her, closing it and resting it on the table.

He squinted at the cover, saw that it was a piece of Anton Costanini trash, and almost smiled. He looked back at her, peaceful in her sleep, her braid let down, Varric realized that she might be the most beautiful person in the world to him at that moment.

He was completely lost to her, and it scared him just a little. But he wasn’t going to back down from this, not when she was so close, and she seemed just as lost to him. He brushed aside her hair and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. And he allowed sleep to finally overtake him, draping himself over her before falling unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAAAAAWKE.


	6. Chapter 6

 

Josephine sat at her desk, tapping her quill against a blank piece of parchment. She glared up at the Divine, who stood in front of her, obstinately refusing to apologize.

“You _have_ seen the blood swipe across his nose, correct?” Josie asked.

Leliana waved her hand. “It’s not real blood, most likely. I’m fairly sure it’s face paint.”

“It’s a political disaster! _She_ is a political disaster!” Josie sighed, putting the quill down gently in the pot of ink. “A warning would have been nice, Leliana. I have been looking at the guest list for the event, and as it turns out, not only will this event have some of the most important people in Thedas attending - with the Divine herself officiating-“

Leliana smiled. “I knew you would never be that angry with me,”

“- but it will also have some of the most… well, dangerous, people in Thedas coming. There are many people who might see this as a dangerous event. And now we have gathered all the advisors to the former Inquisition - which, I might remind you, was one of the most powerful military forces in southern Thedas by the time of its disbandment - and the Champion of Kirkwall. Frankly, I would not be surprised if we began receiving letters from Orlais, Ferelden, or Tevinter within the next several days, asking if we were trying to secretly reform the Inquisition under the guise of a wedding.”

Leliana looked like she was considering the point. “Actually, that wouldn’t be the worst plan, if I’m being honest.”

Josephine crossed her arms, but stopped glaring. “The point is, I am not here as ambassador, but considering that out of everyone here I am the only one willing to talk to nobles, I seem to have taken that task up again. So please me my life easier, my dearest friend- warn me when you invite any more people.”

Leliana walked around the desk to take Josie’s hand and squeeze it softly. “I promise that from now on, every invitation goes through you.”

Josie sighed. “Thank you. I am happy to be doing this for Varric and Cassandra, I really am. But if I am going to help them, I have to know what I am dealing with.”

Leliana smiled. “And that is why I have you here, Josephine. You were always so much better at handling social events and delicate situations than anyone else I know.”

“Considering the people you know, that is a great compliment,” Josie said, reluctantly returning Leliana’s smile.

Leliana paused for a moment. “And, since every invite must go through you, I suppose I ought to tell you that I did send for two more people a little bit early. Three, if you count the person I sent to retrieve them.”

Josephine raised an eyebrow. “Who, and why? And do I need to send several apology letters?”

“Most likely, and I invited them mostly for selfish reasons to be honest. They could also use a break, and Skyhold is an excellent place for a vacation.” Leliana tried to pull her hand away, but Josie held it there in a vice-grip.

“Leliana. Who did you invite early?”

Leliana shrugged nonchalantly. “It may or may not be the King and Queen of Ferelden.”

_“Leliana!”_

“I miss them! And they need a break!”

Josie groaned, putting her head in her hands, before picking up her quill again. She would need to immediately draft a letter inviting the Empress Celene - she didn’t want a war between Ferelden and Orlais to start because of a wedding invitation. After all, those two countries had shed blood over less.

 

* * *

 

 

Cassandra tried in vain to sort through the pile of letters and missives that had been sent to her, and she let out a frustrated sigh. _As it turns out, the world does not stop when I decide to get married._

Varric was off dealing with his own assortment of letters that had been sent from Bran in Kirkwall, and so she was left alone in their room to deal with every message she had received in the past week that she had been studiously ignoring.

Most of the messages were from the Seeker order, and most of those, from her second in command.

She had had little success in locating any remaining Seekers, but those she had managed to find had been extremely helpful in rebuilding the order. And with the addition of a fair number Seeker recruits, the order had begun to slowly reform into something respectable.

This meant, however, that they relied on her for almost everything important, since she was the de facto Lady Seeker until one was officially elected. She refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of her title - though no one would protest if she were to claim it - and had spent many long hours thinking on if she wanted to be Lady Seeker. She still had not come to a conclusion.

Cassandra groaned, picking up one of the missives, trying to read it and quickly becoming frustrated. It was one of too many that had come to her desk, none of which were ones that she wanted to answer.

Then there was a sharp knock at the door, and Cassandra rushed to answer it, thankful for the distraction. She flung open the door, and came face to face with Ellana Lavellan and her baby daughter.

“Cassandra! Can you do something for me? Something very, very important?”  Ellana  asked, breathing heavily and sounding out of breath. Her eyes were wide and she looked fidgety and nervous.

Cassandra gave her a worried look. “What is the matter? You look upset,”

Ellan bit her lip, looking at the floor for a moment, before looking back up at Cassandra. “It’s Cullen. He’s… he’s not having a good moment, and frankly I cannot take care of him and Mirala at the same time. So please please do this for me and watch over Mirala for the afternoon?”

Cassandra gave her a sympathetic look, holding her arms out to take the girl. “Of course. But how is he still having episodes? He has been off lyrium for almost seven years, correct?”

Ellana passed her daughter over to Cassandra, and the little girl began to fuss, reaching out for her mother. “It’s not really the lyrium anymore, although it still can have an effect. It’s the memories of what happened in Ferelden, and in Kirkwall. The things he was put through, the things he _did_ …” Ellana trailed off. “He won’t even tell me everything, but I know he feels so much pain and guilt over it. When we’re at home, I can usually just leave Mirala with Mia or one of the neighbors for a few hours, but Josie is busy and I can’t find Leliana. Thank you so much for doing this, I know you don’t usually… children,” Ellana motioned to her daughter, and Cassandra gave a weak smile.

“I can handle one child for an afternoon. Now go, find Cullen.” This was a complete lie; she hadn’t spent an afternoon with a child since she was one herself, but Mirala gave her a thankful smile, and she was off, rushing down the halls to find her husband.

Cassandra looked at the child, who was in turn looking after her mother, both her arms reaching out, a slight whimper coming from her mouth. Cassandra patted the girl’s head. “Hush, your mother needs to go do something very important. Don’t worry, I will take care of you.” She walked back into her room with the child, before realizing that she didn’t know what in Andraste’s name one actually _did_ with a baby.

She tried sitting back down at the desk with her, but Mirala began to grab at the papers, crumpling them up with her tiny little hands. Cassandra quickly discarded the idea of working on her letters.

She faced the child towards her, and frowned at it. “What is it that your parents do with you? You can’t do much yet, can you? How old are you, even?”

Mirala frowned back at her, an expression that was closer to a pout. And then she noticed the brain in Cassandra’s hair, and her pout was gone, replaced by innocent curiosity as she reached up and managed to pull at Cassandra’s hair. Hard.

“Ow! Stop that!” Cassandra said, pulling the child’s hand away from her, and trying to hold both flailing fists down at the same time.. The little girl giggled, giving Cassandra the kind of smile she only had only seen in paintings. Cassandra raised an eyebrow at her. “You are a little troublemaker, aren’t you?”

Mirala continued to beam at her, not understanding a word that was coming out of her mouth.

“ _Ugh_.” Cassandra got up from the chair, resting Mirala on her hip while she walked out of the room.

She had been young, once; all she had to do was think of what Anthony had said he did with her at this age. She thought about it, digging into memories she hadn’t thought of in years.

Anthony had sparred with her, he had told her. Given her a small, wooden sword when she was barely able to stand, and taught her how to hit with it. He had claimed she was ‘an expert at hitting things by the age of three’.

She looked at the small girl, and sized her up.

Ten minutes later, Cassandra had given the young child a stick, and the two of them stood facing each other. They were outside in the training yard, and Cassandra had grabbed her shield as a target, positioning the child across from it. The stick had been randomly picked up from the ground, and Cassandra supposed that it was about the right size to function as a training sword.

Mirala waddled forward on her little feet, her hand clutched tightly around the stick. It wasn’t an actual weapon, but Cassandra went over and adjusted the little girl’s hold on it, “Here, you can hold it like this,” And then, Cassandra crouched, propping up her shield, “Now, hit the shield. Go!”

The young girl stared at the stick, before moving forward a single step and immediately losing her already dubious sense of balance, falling straight forward. Cassandra sighed, picking up the child and placing her delicately on her feet again. Mirala smiled up at her, waving the stick in her face.

Cassandra gave the girl a small smile. “You are not ready for weapons training, are you?”

“Isn’t she barely a year old? Are you surprised?” Cassandra spun around to see Hawke standing, leaning against one of the walls of Skyhold.

Cassandra paused, looking Hawke up and down. She had not seen the Champion since she left for Weisshaupt so long ago, and they had never spoken regularly before that. Part of that had stemmed from Cassandra’s fury at Varric, and part was that she simply did not know what to say to her.

“I could not think of much to do with her. Babies are surprisingly…” Cassandra stopped, looking for the right word.

“High-maintenance? Needy? Little shits?” Hawke offered, and Cassandra gave a small smile.

“I would use different words, but needy is the best of them. I haven’t been around a child in years. I have no idea how to take care of or entertain one,”

Hawke gave her an incredulous look. “So you decided to teach her how to hit things?”

Cassandra shrugged. “It was what my brother did with me as a child”

Hawke sighed, and walked over, lifting Mirala into her arms. “But she’s not a child. She’s a baby, and babies aren’t capable of much of anything. Did you consider anything else except the first thing that came into your mind?”

Cassandra rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “I suppose not. I just had no idea what to do with her.”

Hawke grinned down at the baby. “Well, if this is your first time caring for a child, ever, I can give you a pass. I did far, far worse when my younger siblings were little, and even as an adult-” Hawke paused, her eyes far away, but she looked fondly at the little girl.  “There are many, many things you can screw up when watching a child. But they usually turn out alright.”

Cassandra paused, considering the image in front of her, with Hawke looking so gently at the child. “You’ve taken care of babies as an adult? I don’t remember reading that in the Tale of the Champion.”

Hawke’s eyes suddenly refocused, and she blushed slightly. “Oh no! Not in Kirkwall, but, well, people ask me for favors much too often. I’ve babysat more than you would expect for a traveling vagabond.” Hawke laughed, and again she looked at the little girl, and addressed her directly. “I suppose you’re Cullen and the Inquisitor’s little girl, aren’t you? Oh, aren’t you adorable!” Hawke smiled brightly at the girl.

“Former Inquisitor,” Cassandra corrected, and Hawke shot her a look before going back to the baby.

“What’s your name? I haven’t talked to your mama and papa yet, so we’ve never been formally introduced,” Hawke shifted the child to her hip and held out a hand to the girl, “I’m Marian Hawke. I tend to make your father’s life a living nightmare, so I imagine the two of us will probably get along grandly one day,”

The little girl looked and poked at the hand, before  looking up at Hawke’s face, and dragging her finger across Hawke’s nose, smearing some of the paint onto her tiny finger. The middle of Hawke’s swipe of paint now had a tiny empty streak. Hawke went cross-eyed trying to look down at her nose, and the little girl giggled.

“And what are you going to do with that - Oh. I see. Very artistic of you.” Hawke watched the little girl drag the finger with the paint across her face, trying and failing to get it across her nose. Instead, the finger crossed her cheek, leaving a little streak of smeared red paint dragging down her cheek. Mirala looked very pleased with herself, and Hawke laughed.

“You look lovely, I think you pull it off better than me.”

Cassandra smiled at the two of them, and wondered at how Hawke was able to better charm this child by holding her for a minute than Cassandra had been able to all afternoon.

But Hawke walked over to Cassandra, passing Mirala back to her. “At least you didn’t make her cry, so I would say you didn’t completely fail.”

Cassandra looked at the little girl and the paint fleck on her cheek. “So what do you suggest I do with her, then? I have no experience in this area.” Cassandra paused, and raised an eyebrow at Hawke. “Unlike you, apparently,”

Hawke looked away from her, ignoring the unspoken question in her voice. “I would suggest reading to her, if you don’t have any of her toys. Or you could take her to the kitchens and ask for pots, pans, and spoons. Then she’ll be able to entertain herself just fine on her own.”

Cassandra shook her head. “I think we will be going with the reading. Or maybe she can take apart my armor, or something.” Hawke considered this for a moment, before nodding in approval.

“Also, I’ve noticed something,” Hawke said. “I think this might be the first, proper conversation the two of us have ever had. So I think I ought to tell you something.”

“What?”

Hawke looked her directly in the eye, suddenly becoming slightly more intimidating. “If you hurt Varric, I will have to kill you. You understand that, right?”

Cassandra looked Hawke up and down, and nodded. “I understand, but I can promise you. I have no intention of hurting Varric.” She paused, searching for words. “I do not think I am capable of it, if I am honest. He holds too much of my heart. He is too much of my heart.”

Hawke raised her eyebrows. “That’s certainly a change from when you didn’t want to marry him earlier last week.”

“Vocally, yes,” Cassandra conceded. “But I was too stubborn for too long. If I am honest, I have loved him for years. My objections were more out of practicality than not wanting to spend my life with him.”

Hawke narrowed her eyes, giving Cassandra a searching look. “Did you ever plan on getting married, then? I mean, I’m in no position to judge, really, it took Fenris and I almost a decade to pull it off, but I’m curious. Did you think you could just go on like that forever?”

Cassandra laughed. “Honestly, I could not tell you. The relationship itself was something I had not planned. It simply was a constant that I had for years. While I rebuilt the order, traveling in search of surviving Seekers and new recruits, I knew that I had Kirkwall to return to. And when I did return, Varric and I never mentioned it. We were simply grateful for the time we could have together. I suppose it seems foolish now that I never realized I had fallen in love,” she said, sighing, and Hawke put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t feel silly. Like I said, my husband and I spent just as long trying to figure it out. We ended up married on a whim more than anything - _oh shit I forgot to tell Varric!_ ” Hawke’s eyes widened in alarm, and Cassandra snorted.

“You two spent the entire night talking, and you forgot to tell him you were married?” Cassandra asked, and Hawke groaned.

“He’s going to kill me, isn’t he?”

Cassandra only shrugged. “He would never actually kill you. But I’ll be hearing about it all night.”

“Well, if that’s all I have to worry about, then I thank you for your sacrifice! I should probably go tell him now.” And with that, Hawke was walking off, before turning back for one moment. “And don’t forget, no more trying to spar with babies!”

Cassandra scoffed.

 

* * *

 

Varric walked into his bedroom, trying to roll his shoulder to get rid of a crick. He had finally gotten around to responding to Bran, and Josie had asked him to finalize the guest list and bring it to Cassandra. So he had the giant scroll tucked under one arm and hoped that his fiancée was still in their bedroom, probably also responding to letters.

She was still there, except she had moved to the chair by the fire, and was holding Mirala in her lap, with a book in front of the two of them. She and the little girl seemed to be very intent on reading the book, and Varric leaned down just a bit to see the cover. His eyes widened when he recognized the cover of _Swords and Shields._

“And the Knight-Captain said, ‘Donnen, don’t be ridiculous!’” Cassandra read aloud, doing a high, ridiculous voice for the Knight-Captain that sounded nothing like her inspiration, “‘We can never be together! What will it look like, a superior falling in love with her subordinate!’ And Donnen said - Oh, Mirala, please don’t eat the page! Books are not for eating!” Varric couldn’t hold in his laughter any longer, watching Cassandra gently pull the little girl’s hand away from the corner of the book, shifting her a little farther back so her mouth wasn’t in reach of the pages.

Cassandra looked up his laughter, a slight blush gracing her face. Varric’s heartstrings twinged, seeing her in the low light, a little girl in her arms, reading his book, his ring on her finger.

If anyone had told him six months ago that this would be an image he would have the pleasure of seeing, he would have laughed them right out the door. And yet.

“So, why exactly have you kidnapped Mirala here? To read her bad romance novels?”

“They’re not bad,” Cassandra said, lifting her chin up in defiance. “And I did not kidnap her. Ellana needed someone to look after her for the day, and she could not get anyone else.”

“Ah,” he said, still completely bemused and charmed. “So… you two have a fun day then? Do anything interesting?”

Cassandra returned her attention to the book and the little girl. “I think we had a fine day. I managed to keep her from crying most of the time, which I was told is a success.”

Varric shrugged. “It’s certainly something. So, are Curly and the Inquisitor ever going to pick her up? Or are we just going to keep her?” Varric walked over to them and leaned against the back to the chair, peering over Cassandra’s shoulder at the book.

Cassandra smiled just a little. “Well right now, there isn’t much of a choice. She’s stuck with us,”

“There are worse fates,” Varric said, nudging her arm just a little.

Cassandra looked at the scroll under his arm. “What’s that?”

“The finalized list of guests. The invitations all went out less than an hour. It’s official- you can’t back out now,” Varric joked, but there was a little heaviness to it. They literally couldn’t back out of it now, they had a ridiculously large list of people coming.

“I would not back out now if I could,” Cassandra said, nudging his arm back just a little, and her head rested against his arm. He smiled softly and kissed her forehead.

“Neither would I. I’ve never been one to wax poetic about love - shocking, I know, with how good a romance writer I am - but just wait until the ceremony. I’ve already got some vows running through my head.”

That was a lie. He had about half of them planned out and it took up approximately two-thirds of a page. He was going to have to trim it down ridiculously.

“I cannot wait to hear it. I fear my vows will pale in comparison,” she said, again pulling the little girl back from taking a bite out of the book.

“Cassandra, my sun, the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on...” He loved how many names he could give her, he really did. “If you mean what you say, I could care less how you say it.”

He took her hand in his and leaned over more to see where she was in the book.“Now, come on. I’m sure Mirala is dying to hear the end of the story, right? And you need someone to play your Donnen.”

Cassandra laughed and she leaned over a bit more to let Varric see, and they continued on in the story - skipping over anything not entirely child appropriate - and with Varric’s addition, Mirala seemed enraptured by the story, all the way until her mother came to pick her up, looking too tired for words. She nodded her thanks to Cassandra and was on her way.

Cassandra proceeded to get ready for bed, but Varric was left with the image of Cassandra with a young child in her lap, and was a little bit embarrassed at how much he enjoyed it. And he was absolutely disgusted at how domestic he had become as he aged.

So he pushed the image out of his mind, instead burying himself once again in his writing, only leaving his desk to come to bed when Cassandra beckoned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god this fic is fun to write you have no idea.
> 
> and whoops I'm sorry I haven't been responding to comments, I've been so super busy! I will get on that asap!


	7. Chapter 7

The subsequent days flew by quickly, and guests began to arrive much too soon for Cassandra’s liking. Josephine had been in a tizzy, ordering fabrics and decorations and dining wear, and when the first guests began to arrive, Josephine was a mess.

“We haven’t even _begun_ construction on your wedding dress!” she said, and Cassandra groaned. They were once again crowded around the war table, and Cassandra was frankly getting tired of spending all her time in this damned room.

“All the better, considering I do not want one.”

Josie raised an eyebrow. “Would you like me to send out late invitations to some of your relatives?”

Cassandra groaned, louder, and let her face fall into her hand. She felt Varric take her other hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. She squeezed in return.

“Josephine, calm down,” Dorian said. “So far, the only guests who have bothered to show up two months early are Bull and the Chargers, Isabela, and Merrill. Everyone else will get here most at least within the month of the wedding. Also, Varric, why did you not warn anyone that Merrill was actually made of sugar and sunshine? Just being around her gives me a toothache.”

Varric chuckled. “Wait until you see her in a fight, Sparkler. She stops seeming so precious once you’ve watched her destroy a man.”

“Speaking of Merrill, I think she wants to be a part of the discussion on outfits. She has suggested… flower crowns,” Josie said, and Cassandra looked up.

“Flower crowns?”

_“Yes,_ ” Hawke and Varric said in unison, and the rest of the table turned towards them.

“I refuse to deny her that,” Varric said firmly.

“It’s honestly becoming a problem, because you really don’t deny her anything. But she’s probably already planned out what flowers everyone will need to wear based on the meanings. Just, let her have the flower crowns. I couldn’t stand to see her face fall if we tell her no,” Hawke added.

Josie looked at them, before slowly turning back to her clipboard. “Alright then. Flower crowns it is. But still, Cassandra, we must get you fitted for your wedding dress, and we need to finalize the wedding party, not to mention we still haven’t decided what we are going to do for food-“

“Josie, why don’t you take the afternoon off?” Leliana said, cutting her off. “You’ve been working too hard on something that should be fun for everyone.”

Josie sighed, deeply, her shoulders sagging. “You’re right. But I’m still calling a tailor to Skyhold later this week, and both of you are getting fitted for wedding outfits. And Varric, you will be wearing a shirt that covers your chest.”

Hawke gasped in exaggerated horror, standing up abruptly and letting the papers around her fly to the floor. “How dare you presume to do this! To cover Varric’s chest! That’s a crime, to cover up such beauty! I’m offended, on behalf of all that is good and holy! Leliana - no, I beseech Divine Victoria herself - stop this madness! There must be a verse in the Chant of Light somewhere that says this is wrong!”

“Hawke, no,” Cassandra said wearily. This was the third dramatic outburst in the past week.

“Hawke, _yes_ ,” Varric said at the same time, and Cassandra shot him a look. He just smiled, unrepentantly gleeful.

This was the man she had chosen to marry. This was the man she had fallen in love with.

“I am leaving,” Cassandra said, definitively, and began to walk out, pulling Varric after her by the hand. He began to laugh, and she rolled her eyes, but a smile crept onto her face.

“This wedding is getting ridiculous,” she said, looking down at him.

“The wedding has been ridiculous from the beginning, do you not remember how it started? Or that Hawke is helping plan it? Or, for that matter, who is attending?”

“Well, I’m not the one who has to invite the entire Free Marches,” Cassandra replied, a little smug.

Varric scoffed. “Oh, I’m sorry, you only had to invite your family. You know, everyone with the Pentaghast name in Nevarra? How many people is that?”

“It isn’t nearly as bad as some families, only about 75 people,” she said. She shuddered a little, imagining having them all at Skyhold. “Most of whom I have not spoken to since I joined the Seekers. So I don’t look forward to them coming here and trying to tell me how much they care about my marriage. It probably kills them that I’m marrying a Free Marcher.”

Varric snorted. “Wait, they’re more upset about me being a Free Marcher than a dwarf?”

“They haven’t figured that out yet. Your books have not made their way to the court of Nevarra,” Cassandra said. “And the moment they get here and meet you is a moment I look forward to very much.”

“Ha! Cassandra, my love, I love it when you get all vindictive.”

They walked into the tavern together, still hand in hand, and caught the eye of the Iron Bull, who seemed to have reclaimed his favorite back corner of the bottom floor of Herald’s Rest.

“There’s the happy couple! I was wondering if I would ever actually see either of you,” he said, stretching his arms out. “But don’t worry, I’ve been keeping myself entertained since I got here. Varric, the Chargers and I have an idea that we want to share with you.”

Varric gestured for the bartender to bring over a beer. “Why do I have the feeling this is going to be a bad idea?”

“You haven’t even heard it!”

“When the Chargers are involved, it most likely involves more smashing things than I am used to. And if involves smashing, poor Ruffles might have a heart attack.” Varric got his beer, and drank deeply. Cassandra was considering getting her own flagon.

Bull shook his head. “No, no smashing. But the Chargers and I would like the honor,” Bull gave them a huge smile, “Of throwing your stag party.”

Varric choked and little on his beer, while Cassandra’s eyebrows practically disappeared into her hairline.

“Seriously? You want to throw me a stag party? At Skyhold? That… was not what I was expecting. At all,” Varric said, rubbing his throat a little after the coughing fit.

“That’s not a ‘no’, though,” Bull said.

Varric shook his head, “While I’m flattered you want to throw me one, really, flattered, I don’t think I’m going to be taking you up on that offer,”

“Damn right you aren’t!” They turned around to see Isabela swaggering towards them, her oversized admiral’s hat sitting atop her head. Cassandra had only seen her once since she had arrived with Merrill, as she had been spending most days trying to minimize the ridiculous wedding plans, with brief interludes to read or, surprisingly, play with Mirala. But Varric had spent most of his time either with Cassandra or with Merrill, Isabela, and Hawke, catching up and getting reaquainted.

“Isabela, why am I not surprised to see you in the tavern as usual,” Varric said, and Isabela laughed, leaning on the nearest table.

“Shut up, dwarf, you lived in the Hanged Man for a decade, same as me. And we had a fine time there as well. But! Back to the point at hand.” Isabela turned to Bull, leaning over just a little bit. “Hawke and I will be coordinating Varric’s stag party. That is non-negotiable.”

Bull barked a laugh. “Really? You won’t even duel for it?”

Isabela smirked. “I’ll have Hawke duel you for it. Wouldn’t be the first time she’s kicked a Qunari’s ass for me.”

“You know, I still want to ask her about that,” Bull said. “Frankly, I’m impressed. The Arishok is always one tough son of a bitch, and they tend to do a lot of impaling. When I first saw her, I wondered how the fuck she beat him.”

“A lot of running around in a circle and siccing her dog on him,” Varric said, “I could’ve told you that.”

Cassandra looked down at him. “Wait, really? The way you described it to me, it was much more… heroic,” she said, a little deflated.

Isabela smirked. “He wanted to impress you, even back then. How cute. I almost want to pinch your cheek.”

Varric leaned away from her a little. “Don’t you dare touch my pretty little cheeks Rivaini. And I wasn’t trying to impress you so much as I was trying to build up Hawke’s reputation.”

“You really didn’t have to do that on my account. I was already stunned the moment I met Hawke, without your constant platitudes about how amazing she is,” Cassandra said, and Varric snickered.

“I was wondering why you didn’t talk to Hawke when she was in Skyhold the first time! Was it seriously because you were too nervous to talk to her?”

Cassandra glared at him. “Well, I had also just attacked you for hiding her from me. It was not only because I was star-struck,”

Varric smiled, squeezing her hand a little. “Sure, say whatever you need to preserve your warrior-queen reputation. I won’t dispute you.”

“As cute as it is to see you two flirt with each other, it’s also disgusting. But Bull, I’m not backing down on this. You can plan Cassandra’s, maybe! I’m sure that would be fun, you can all hit things with great force. How fun,” Isabela said, clearly not excited.

Bull considered this for a moment. “Cassandra, can we-“

“ _No_ ,” Cassandra said through gritted teeth.

“But _dragon hunting_! A Pentaghast tradition! Think of the possibilities!”

“No! Where would we even _find_ a dragon?! We dealt with all the known specimens in southern Thedas!”

Bull waved away the criticism. “Just send the Inquisitor somewhere, there will probably be a dragon. Or three.”

Cassandra glared at him. “Bull, you could not drag me on another dragon hunting trip if you tried.”

Bull pouted. “You guys need to have more fun.”

Varric shook his head. “Bull, if it’s any consolation, if I didn’t have a bunch of crazy people already planning my bachelor’s party, I would have been honored to have you arrange the whole thing.”

“Better. Maybe I’ll just crash yours then, why not?”

“You say that like you and the Chargers aren’t invited!” Isabela said, smiling. “I’ve liked you idiots so far, and Varric seems to like you. Also,” Isabela’s smile became a little more lecherous, her eyebrows waggling, “your second in command is absolutely adorable. I think I want him there for my own reasons.”

Bull gave a hearty laugh. “If you can charm Krem into your bed, go for it. The Vint needs some relaxation.”

“Hmmm, sounds like a plan, then. Toodles!” Isabela walked away, her hips swaying seductively as she walked out the door.

Cassandra turned to Varric. “What is most surprising, sometimes, is how you toned down some of her personality for the Tale of the Champion.”

Varric took another swig of his beer. “If I had written her exactly like she is, all the time, she might have just stolen the show from Hawke. Couldn’t have that happening, could I?”

“I suppose not,” Cassandra said, taking his mug and stealing a sip of the drink. He pushed her lightly, and she pushed back, catching his hand under the table.

‘So, we have me and the Chargers here, we have Dorian, we have Hawke, Isabela, and that little elf, Merrill. Who else is coming soon? I wouldn’t say I’m bored, but I’m certainly not entertained,” Bull said.

“It’s impossible to be bored when Hawke is around, come on! But I know Leliana invited the king and queen of Ferelden early - old friends of hers, not our idea - and then everybody else will be coming at their leisure.” Varric told him.

“The king and queen of Ferelden? That will be interesting. And I can be bored when Hawke is actively avoiding me. Didn’t take long to figure that one out.” Bull said, frowning a bit.

“Hawke is avoiding you? Why?” Cassandra asked.

“Well, when you kill the Arishok, you never really know if the Qunari you meet are friends or foes. Even Tal-Vashoth,” Varric said.

Bull held up his hands. “Hey, I don’t blame her. But I read the Tale of the Champion, and anyone who likes dragons that much is okay in my book. That Arishok was an ass anyway.”

Varric gave him an incredulous look. “Even you’ve read it? Seriously? And yet your relatives can’t be bothered to pick it up?” He turned to Cassandra, and she scoffed.

“It’s too _Orlesian_ for them. Or too Free Marcher. Really, so many of them will turn their nose up at just about anything, and they’ll cite any reason not to read popular literature.”

Varric held up his glass for a refill. “Go figure. Never thought I would be too mainstream for the Nevarran royalty. You learn something new every day.”

 

* * *

 

Later that night, as they sat together in the main hall near the small fire that Varric had always been so fond of, Cassandra asked him the question he had been dreading.

They were sitting together in the stiff wooden chairs, simply looking into the fire, talking softly as the stars slowly began to appear in the sky.

They’d been drinking from one of the bottles he had stolen from the stores downstairs. It didn’t have a label, but it had a thick, heady aroma, and it was enough to loosen both their lips a little.

“You know, for an engaged couple, there’s so much we’ve never talked about,” Varric said, gazing up at the high ceiling and thinking about woman sitting beside him.

“You do realize we have hundreds of letters detailing every conversation we’ve had. You’ve told me about your brother and Bianca, I told you of Anthony, Galyan, both Beatrix and Justinia. What exactly have we missed?”

He looked at her and saw her swirling her cup of wine ever so gently. “Well, I don’t know. I imagine married couples knowing every single one of each other’s little quirks. I mean, yeah, we had our letters, but…” He trailed off, trying to figure out what he was saying. “I want to hear you tell me things. It feels just a bit more real than writing.”

She put down her wine glass and took his hand. “Alright then,what would you like to talk about?”

He paused, considering. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Red. And you?”

He thought about every color he could. He knew it definitely wasn’t red. Red meant blood and pain and _red lyrium_ which mean even more pain. Black and white were too clear cut. Gold? He liked the color, wore it around his neck every day. “Gold, maybe. Next question - favorite animal?”

Cassandra chuckled. “I do not believe I have one. The only contact I’ve ever had with them are the ones we fought on our adventures, and the occasional mabari. I’m surprised the Rutherfords don’t have theirs with them.”

“I… have no idea actually. And I don’t have one either. So, no pets.” Varric drank a little. “Next question. Favorite place?”

He knew this was a loaded question, and he asked it anyway.

She took her time, taking so long that Varric wondered if she was ever going to respond. Finally, she gave an answer.

“At your side,” she said, softly, and it broke Varric’s heart a little.

“Same - although I don’t always know where that may be,” he replied, and looked at her. She stared back at him, before looking away into the fire.

“Varric, I have to know-“ Cassandra began, stopping to get the words right. “We spent far too long trying to get to where we are now. But we have not asked ourselves what happens after this.”

He didn’t answer right away, contemplating his words carefully. In truth, he had thought about it, a lot. It had been what kept him from asking her to marry him. He knew he didn’t want her to leave his side again, but he wasn’t going to be that selfish. Cassandra didn’t belong to him - she couldn’t.

He answered slowly. “Well, I know that my role as Viscount certainly isn’t changing, unfortunately.” He laughed dryly. “But to answer your question... I don’t know. I know we’ll be married. I also know that I’m not going to ask you to also give up the Seekers and your work for them.”

She sighed, seeming relieved. “I know, and I thank you for that. I do not know how prepared I am to leave them yet. They are still in their infancy, and while there are certainly candidates for Lord Seeker, none of them are exactly prepared for it yet.”

Varric gave her a small smile. “Except you, I suppose.”

Cassandra shook her head. “No. I do not know if I am prepared for that, either. I never imagined myself as leader of the order, I never wanted it. I just happened to be the former Seeker who had the book and was passionate about rebuilding the order.”

“So, you’re simply acting as leader until someone else worthy stands up?”

“Yes,”

“And if no one else is worthy? We both know you would be an amazing leader of the Order, Cassandra. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“I am not - but as leader of the order, I would not be able to make the visits to Kirkwall that I do now,” Cassandra said, biting her lip. “And I have become much too fond of your face and your terrible, terrible city.”

“And I like seeing you in my city. And it’s not that terrible! It’s a lot better than it used to be!”

“At least you moved the statue of Meredith out of the Gallows,” Cassandra conceded.

“And I’ve made the Gallows mostly off limits. I’m actually trying to get them torn down, but you know how long that takes.” Varric grinned back at her, before becoming somber again. “Still. I love seeing you, and I love your visits to Kirkwall. But if they offer you the job of Lady Seeker, you should take it. Don’t let me hold you back,” he said, swallowing hard. He tried to smile. “I think it will be the first successful long distance marriage. Should be an adventure, right?”

“Varric-“ Cassandra said, looking at him with wide, sad eyes. He hated making her sad, but he refused to keep her from being the best damned Seeker in Thedas.

He got up, kissing her on her forehead, and then her cheek, and then her mouth, taking a longer, lingering taste, before pulling away. “I’m going to bed. Think about what I’ve said, alright?” And he walked away, only looking back at her once. She was still sitting by the fire, staring into the flames, her brow furrowed like she was thinking intently. He hated walking away from her, but he also knew it was the right thing to do.

“Always have to fall for the ones who can’t stay, don’t you Varric?” he mumbled out loud.

And he walked away, to let her think.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was originally supposed to have one more scene, to make the plot move a bit more forward, but this ended up being long as hell. So instead you get lots of feeeeeelings and there will be a lot more plot plot next chapter. In the mean time, enjoy this angst!


	8. Chapter 8

Skyhold was rife with nervous energy on the day Leliana said that the king and queen of Ferelden were going to arrive. (They didn’t question how Leliana knew). Josephine was in a tizzy and Cassandra’s fingers had not stopped drumming againstthe railing all day. They were situated on the balcony above Skyhold main hall, instead of the war room, so that they could look over the gate and watch, waiting, for the King and Queen, and every one in their little group was simply waiting, each with their own nervous ticks The constant tapping and energy was setting Varric even more on edge.

He hadn’t seen the king of Ferelden since the incident with his father, and he imagined that King Alistair wouldn’t exactly be thrilled to see him again. And the queen herself was something else. The Hero of Ferelden, recently returned after almost a decade spent searching for a cure for something that plagued the Grey Wardens - the “Calling”. Varric didn’t know what that entailed - the Wardens were private about everything, especially their weaknesses - but apparently, she had found it. So now she was not only the person who had saved Ferelden, but also the one who’d somehow managed to cure the ailment that had plagued the Wardens for centuries. And he had to make sure she liked the catering at his wedding. Fantastic.

They all seemed to wait with baited breath that day, Everyone glanced towards the gates every now and then, as they tried to plan. And the planning was going nowhere. He and Cassandra had apparently stopped being able to speak to each other without it being awkward again. Dorian was off somewhere, spending long-awaited time with Iron Bull. Ellana was off with her husband and child. It was only the pair of them, Hawke, Josie, and Leliana, all waiting for the monarchs.

The only person who didn’t seem completely on edge was Hawke. “Well, I’m sure this will be exciting - you know, I’ve met plenty of important people in my time, but... never the Hero of Ferelden. It seems like our paths ought to have crossed long before this, really.”

Leliana considered this. “I’ve never thought about it before, but you’re right. As two people with such great influence, there are plenty of situations that would easily have brought you together, but it just... never happened. It’s quite astonishing.”

“I know! Josephine, can you seat us at the same table at the wedding? I’m dying to get to know her, I bet she’s a hoot!”

Josie hummed, not taking her eyes off the window. “Hawke, you do realize that you’ll be sitting at the head table, correct? Unless you don’t want to be Varric’s best man? I’m sure the Iron Bull would be more than happy to-”

“I lied. Keep me exactly where I am.”

“That’s what I thought.”

And the room lapsed into silence again. Varric found it incredibly awkward, simply waiting for a pair of gates to open.

“So, um, are we done for the day? I’m sure that I have a letter from Bran that needs to be opened, or I’m working on a new story-“

Cassandra’s eyes darted away from the window, locking onto him instead. “A new story? You haven’t published anything since your sequel to _Hard in Hightown_! What is this one about?”

 _Maker’s breath._ She looked so excited that it made Varric’s heart squeeze just a little. He wanted to tell her, but he just smiled and mimed locking his mouth. “It’s a secret, darling. No pre-release spoilers, even for fiancées.”

She frowned. “You are such a tease!”

“You know it darling.”

“You know, for two people who have been together for so long, you flirt too much. Can’t you act like an old married couple yet, with only the arguing keeping your marriage alive?” Hawke said impatiently.

Varric gave her a withering look. “Right, because I’m going to start taking romantic advice from the woman who took how many years? Seven? To court her elfy boyfriend. I think I’ll take my chances, thanks.”

The tension was too high in the room, and if Varric didn’t know any better, he would think that they were being snippy with each other.

Varric knew how hard it was for her to be away from Fenris - especially now since they were apparently _married_ and hadn’t invited him to the fucking wedding - and she had probably picked up on the awkwardness between Varric and his bride-to-be. So they let the steam out at each other. It was how they worked.

“Didn’t you say they would arrive at midday?” Josephine asked, impatient.

“I did, but you know how people can be with timing. They could arrive anytime between now and the evening. Although I am getting tired of waiting, I admit,” Leliana replied, wringing her hands.

Varric got up from the table, clapping his hands together. “Well then! Why don’t we all go and have a nice lunch, take our minds off the gate-“

“It’s opening!” Hawke cried, and all of the women ran to the edge of the balcony. Varric sighed, resigning himself to a late lunch.

He didn’t even try to approach them, instead listening to the others talk.

“It’s about damned time.”

“I was wondering when they would - wait. That’s not them.”

“What? How! Who else would be arriving this early!?”

“And you haven’t even see them yet, Leliana. Who knows, maybe they went for a more subtle entrance.”

“Subtle or not, that’s not them. Watch.”

“Alright - Maker, you’re right. It’s-“

“Bethany!” Hawke cried, pulling away from the group with a large smile. “Andraste’s tits, I didn’t know she was so close! Varric, come on, we have to go see her, I haven’t seen her in person in Maker knows how long!” She rushed over to the door and down the stairs, and Varric followed her as fast as he could.

Hawke seemed ridiculously giddy, giggling to herself. “Varric, it’s her! She didn’t tell me she was so close to the Frostbacks, I can’t believe it! We’ve been writing each other, but I can’t believe she’s here!”

Varric laughed along with her. “I can’t either. It’s going to be crazy to see her again, I haven’t seen her since we left Kirkwall. Last I heard - well, she was still traveling with Blondie. That true?”

Hawke nodded, lips pursed. “Yes. They’ve become _quite_ fond of each other over the years, if you know what I mean. But I assume Anders isn’t invited to the wedding?”

Varric gave her a stern look. “No. No, he isn’t.”

Hawke shrugged. “I can’t blame you for that. Your fiancée does work for the Chantry. Bringing the apostate who was largely responsible for the start of the mage rebellion to your wedding might have some complications. And you don’t seem to have forgiven him yourself, have you?”

“He blew up a Chantry in the heart of my city, Hawke, and caused a lot of people’s deaths.”

Hawke hummed in agreement, before adding hesitantly, “…but you haven’t invited Sebastian either, right?”

“ _Fuck_ no. Chantry boy decided to try and occupy Kirkwall and start an Exalted March on it! He’s going to have to send a very nice fruit basket to make up for that one.”

Hawke snorted. “At least you’re fair, I’ll give you that.”

They opened the side door to Skyhold’s grand hall, and Hawke rushed towards the large wooden doors. They began to open, and her run slowed to a stop, watching the silhouette of her sister push through.

“Bethany!”

“Marian!” The sisters met each other in the middle, catching each other in a crushing hug, laughing jubilantly together. Varric smiled broadly at the scene.

They pulled back, and Hawke took a good look at her sister. “Look at you - You’ve cut your hair just a bit! And you’ve finally gotten yourself some proper adventuring clothes, thank the Maker. Here, put down your bags, and give me another proper hug.”

Bethany dropped her bags, and brought her sister in for another tight hug. “I missed you so much.” Her words were muffled from burying her face in Hawke’s collar.

Hawke squeezed tighter. “I bet I missed you more.”

“I missed you to infinity.”

“I missed you to infinity _and one,_ ha!”

Bethany laughed again, finally pulling away from the embrace. “You’re absolutely ridiculous - it’s the most refreshing thing I’ve heard in months.” Bethany’s smile threatened to split her face, and upon seeing it, Varric couldn’t help but grin a bit wider as well.

“Well, I’m always here for a quip and a rib-crushing hug. Not good for much else, but for that, sure, I’m excellent.” Hawke shrugged, and Bethany rolled her eyes. She then caught sight of Varric, who also held out his arms for a hug.

“Varric!” Bethany said, leaning down to hug him as well. “I can’t believe you’re getting married! And you somehow managed to find me in the middle of nowhere to invite me! I’m honored and a bit perplexed, to be honest.”

Varric chuckled. “You can thank Most Holy for that one. Our current Divine is a pretty terrifying person when you get to know her.”

Bethany’s eyes widened. “The Divine? You didn’t mention that on the invitation, oh dear.”

Varric heard the door behind them open and shut, and he assumed it was the others, who had finally caught up to them to see the commotion. “Well, it’s complicated, Sunshine. My fiancée used to be the right hand of the Divine, with Leliana - sorry, Victoria - as the left. So they’re pretty close. Combined with the fact that I’m Viscount of Kirkwall-“

“And your bride-to-be is also part of the Chantry?” Bethany’s eyes widened more, and if Varric didn’t know any better, they were a bit fearful.

“Well, yeah,” he said, giving her a worried look. “You missed a lot while you were off in the wilderness with Blondie.” He tried to be a bit kinder, for her sake, but the nickname still came out a bit bitter.

Bethany bit her lip. “Oh, _shite._ Varric, I had no idea. I thought that it would be something smaller, like Aveline’s was. If I had known you were so important-“

“Sunshine, what’s the matter? You aren’t an apostate any more, Cassandra and Leliana aren’t going to take you in.”

She shook her head, watching the other approaching figures with apprehension. “No Varric, that’s not it, oh Maker I’m _so sorry_ -“

Varric looked at her in bewilderment. “Bethany, what are you going on about-“ And then a movement caught Varric’s eye. Something was rustling in Bethany’s pack, trying to get out. He narrowed his eyes at it, watching as the lump wriggled, slowly shifting.

“Sunshine,” he said, his voice flat. “What is that.”

She grimaced. “Varric I am so sorry.”

A small, light orange cat slipped out of the pack and stared straight up at Hawke. Hawke looked back at it for a moment, before realization dawned on her, and she glared at the cat. Varric agreed with the sentiment wholeheartedly.

Varric didn’t think he could be angry at Bethany Hawke, actual living ray of sunshine. And he wasn’t.

_But Bethany what the fuck._

“Sunshine…” Varric said, trailing off, and she gave him an extremely guilty look. She didn’t have time to respond, because Cassandra had reached his side and held her hand out for Bethany to shake. Hawke quickly scooped up the cat, holding it close to her body, continuing to glare at it.

“You are the Champion’s sister, correct? It’s wonderful to meet you. I’m Cassandra Pentaghast.”

“You must be Varric’s fiancée! How wonderful! I wish we’d been able to meet sooner, but...” Bethany trailed off, her eyes flickering toward the cat. Cassandra’s eyes followed hers, and Varric winced as she caught sight of the cat.

“Is that a cat?” she asked, and Bethany went as pale as a sheet.

“Um, yes?”

“Bethany’s had a cat for ages now, I imagine it helps to keep her company,” Hawke swooped in, saving her sister and practically dumping the cat into her arms.

“Oh! How nice!” Cassandra said, clearly not knowing how to respond.

“Yes! His name is… Apawstate,” Bethany said, and her eyes widened even more as she realized the terrible pun she had just named her ‘cat’. Varric snorted, quickly covering it up as a coughing fit.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at the pun, but Varric was bewildered, because she seemed to not catch on. He thought about it, and realized firstly that Cassandra didn’t know what Anders actually looked like, and secondly that she didn’t know that he and Bethany had been traveling together. He had never mentioned it in the book, and she’d never asked. So, for all intents and purposes, this cat was completely normal.

“He is… very cute,” Cassandra said, reaching over to pet the cat. Varric watched the cat freeze under Cassandra’s hand, not knowing how to react when she scratched its head. He tried to lean in to the touch, but Varric was appalled by how badly Anders was at acting like a real cat.

“Yes, um, well,” Bethany slowly backed away from Cassandra, and Varric was able to breathe again.

“Bethany, here, let’s get your bags, let me help you with that. Hawke, the room next to yours is made up, right? Well, now that’s Bethany’s room.” Hawke quickly scooped up Bethany’s bags, and Varric turned to Cassandra, taking her hand and squeezing it. “I’m gonna go help Bethany get situated. Come get me if the king and queen ever decide to actually show up?”

Cassandra smiled at him. “Of course,” she said quietly, and he turned, following after Bethany and Hawke, trying not to internally combust from what had just happened.

They walked in silence, waiting until they were in the safety and silence of Bethany’s bedroom and the door was firmly shut behind them.

“Okay. Sunshine, Bethany, I love you to death, but what the actual fuck were you thinking.” Varric turned around, giving her a bewildered look.

She grimaced, looking at the cat in her arms. ‘Apawstate’ was just giving Varric a big, pitiful-eyed gaze, and Varric rolled his eyes at it. “Varric, I am so, so sorry, I didn’t know! When I got the invitation, all it said was that I was invited to the wedding of Cassandra Pentaghast and Varric Tethras. I thought it would be a small event, so if Anders were here as as cat, it wouldn’t be a problem! I had no idea you would be getting married by the _literal Divine._ ” She dropped the cat - Anders, Apawstate, whatever his name was - onto the floor, and the cat sat upright next to her, staring up at Varric and Hawke.

“What made you want to bring him in the first place?” Hawke asked, motioning to Anders. “It’s not as if both of you were on the invitation!”

Bethany bit her lip. “I worry, when I leave him alone, to be honest. Anders has been better, but can you blame me for being worried about his health and safety? This isn’t the first time Anders has traveled with me as a cat - he learned to shapeshift not long after the rebellion started. It’s easier; this way people don’t recognize him.” She looked sheepishly at them, and Varric gave a deep sigh.

“Bethany, you are too damned nice, you know that? I can’t tell you you’re wrong, especially if what Hawke has implied about you and Blondie is true - is it?”

Bethany blushed, looking down Apawstate, and she smiled a little bit. He, in return, nuzzled up against her leg. “Yes. I haven’t forgiven him for the Chantry - who could? - and he understands that. But after we fled Kirkwall, once it was just the two of us travelling together…” She trailed off, looking at the cat the same way her sister looked at Fenris, which was a bit unnerving really, seeing as he was a cat. “I began to understand him. And…” Bethany couldn’t seem to find the words, and Varric understood her completely.

“Alright. Well, we can’t change this now. So what do we do now that he’s here?” Hawke asked, looking towards Varric.

Varric thought about it, looking between Bethany and Apawstate, “Alright, ground rules. One, he stays a cat. No changing between forms, ever, even in the privacy of the room. What if that fucking messenger were to show up again and find you with the man who started the mage rebellion?”

Bethany raised an eyebrow. “What messenger?”

“His name is Jim and the poor man can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to walking in on the various couples of Skyhold,” Hawke told her.

Varric went on. “Two, we tell no one. If anyone figures it out, we can tell them to keep their mouths shut about it, but I will not let this get back to Cassandra. I may not be amused with you, Anders, but I also don’t want to see what Cassandra will do to you if she finds out that the apostate that blew up Kirkwall’s Chantry is crashing her wedding.”

“And three- you learn how to act like an actual damned cat. When Cassandra petted you earlier, you looked about as natural as those fake house-plants Orlesians like to put everywhere. So learn how to act like a cat, I’m sure you’re not the only one in Skyhold. Keep to those rules, and he can stay.”

Bethany smiled, her big, sunny one that always made Varric’s heart melt a little. He was always a sucker for a genuinely nice person - they were so rare nowadays. “Varric, thank you!”

Varric waved the thanks away. “It’s not your fault you didn’t know that I was marrying the right hand of the last Divine. Now, I’m still not amused having you here-” he pointedly looked at Apawstate, “-but I can’t stay mad at you, Bethany. Keep him out of my hair, and away from Cassandra at all costs, and hopefully I can just forget that he’s here altogether.”

Bethany walked over and hugged Varric tightly. “I never did actually congratulate you on getting married. You’ll need to tell me the story of you two, soon. And then I’ll ask her for the story, to get the truth of how you two came together.”

Varric grinned. “I don’t think I need to embellish this one. I suppose you could say we met because she was a fan of my books.”

Bethany looked at him, surprised. “Seriously? You married a fan?”

“Well, she’s a fan, and also she took him in for interrogation about my whereabouts, then dragged him across Thedas against his will. How he went from that to wanting to marry her, I haven’t yet figured out,” Hawke said, walking over to the door. “Varric still needs to tell me that one.”

Varric walked over with her, opening the door. “How about we have a night at the tavern, the three of us, Isabela, and Merrill...” Varric paused, looking at the cat. “...and maybe him to. Haven’t decided how pissed I am at you for crashing my wedding, and I was already still pissed about Kirkwall. But we’ll all have drinks tonight, and I can tell you all about the grand romance between the brave Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast and her story teller.” He hesitated, thinking back on his conversation with Cassandra the night before. “Well, maybe not tonight. Not exactly up to telling the story just now, but soon. I promise.”

“Now, why don’t we give you two time to unpack?” Hawke said, pulling Varric out the door. “Later!” And the door shut behind them.

As they walked back she told him, “I’m surprised you were able to stay calm with Bethany.”

“Well, I can’t stay mad at her. And if it were a smaller affair, and my fiancée  was less devout and pissed about the mage rebellion, she’s right, I might’ve let it slide. I may have to invite Choir Boy now, though, or else I’m going to feel guilty that Blondie got to come and he didn’t.”

Hawke winced. “Don’t. Aveline might kill him, and if she doesn’t, Apawstate will probably claw his eyes out.” She paused, then asked, “So, you don’t feel like telling the story of you and Cassandra? Any particular reason?”

Varric looked at the ground. “No reason.”

“Varric, I can tell when you’re lying.”

“I know you can.” He left it at that, and Hawke didn’t push, which he was grateful for.

But she did add, “You know she loves you, right? I just... want to make sure you know that. I could tell that from the first time I saw her look at you.”

Varric smiled. “Yeah, I know.”

They were finally back in the main hall, and as they started to walk to rejoin the others, Cassandra, Leliana, and Josephine all flew past them, walking quickly towards the front doors.

“They’re here!” Leliana cried, her entire person emanating joy, and Varric looked towards the doors, which were swinging oper in their typical dramatic fashion. Three people walked in, two of whom Varric recognized.

One, of course, was the king of Ferelden, Alistair Theirin. The woman, who he didn’t recognize, was presumably the queen of Ferelden, Elissa Cousland. The third, who seemed to be their escort, was a tattooed blonde elf who Varric hadn’t seen in years.

“You sent Zevran to go get them?” he asked Leliana, and her eyes sparkled.

“I wouldn’t trust anyone else to get them out of that palace,” she said, and she walked towards her friends.

The three of them caught sight of her, and the queen broke out into a huge smile. “Divine Victoria, my dear, dear friend.”

“Oh, stop,” Leliana said. “It’s still Leliana, to you.”

Elissa laughed, a beautiful, melodic laugh. Varric could see why the king was love with her. She was beautiful, no one could deny that, but there was also something about her that seemed to effortlessly charm everyone she came across.

“And Alistair, it’s so good to see you again!” Leliana said, taking Alistair’s hands in her own.

“Yes, I haven’t seen you since the whole mage debacle. It’s nice to see you under better circumstances.”

Leliana turned towards Zevran then. “And you, my friend, have done an excellent job. Tell me, how did you manage to get them out of the castle? I know Teagan and Eamon keep you two in the longest, most ridiculous meetings.”

Elissa groaned. “Don’t remind me. Zevran sold this to us as an unprompted vacation... which we simply weren’t telling Eamon and Teagan about until we were already gone. That reminds me, though, where is this happy couple? We should be thanking them for their invitation.” She looked around Leliana and saw Cassandra and Varric standing very awkwardly to the side, watching the reunion.

“Ah, hello. One half of the engaged couple, right here. My other half is the beautiful woman next to me, Cassandra Pentaghast.” Varric motioned to her, but Cassandra simply stood there, staring at the queen, a slight blush gracing her cheeks. Varric grinned, watching her.

The queen smiled, taking Cassandra’s hand in her own, and Varric thought Cassandra might collapse. “Congratulations Seeker Pentaghast, and as I said, thank you for your generous invitation. I will admit I was surprised when Zevran came to deliver it himself, but I assume that wasn’t your doing.” Elissa’s eyes were a sparkling green.

“Er, ah, no, that was Leliana,” Cassandra said, barely getting the words out. “But I do not regret inviting you! In fact, if I may say, I admire you very, very much. I have heard the stories, and I must know, is it really true-“

“Yes,” the queen responded, “Yes, yes, whatever you’ve heard is most likely true. But it’s also most likely quite exaggerated, unless you heard it directly from Leliana.”

Cassandra was still stunned in place, so Varric quickly stepped in to save her from any embarrassment. “We thank you both for coming, and so early! I assume you’re prepared to spend several months away from the throne, though, since Leliana invited you both _really_ early.”

Alistair walked up next to his wife, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Oh trust me, we will be just fine being away from Denerim for a little while. Teagan can handle it while we’re gone. He’s done it before.”

“You’re trying to give Teagan a heart attack, aren’t you? First you made the poor man ambassador to Orlais, then you made him deal with the Inquisition, and now he’ll be ruling the country by himself” Varric said, shaking his head.

Alistair gave Varric a cheeky grin. “He can handle it. I think. And, before I forget, it is nice to see you again, Varric, under much better circumstances than last time.”

Varric nodded. “Same to you, your majesty. And Isabela is around here, somewhere, if you want to drop in on her.”

Alistair blushed. “Nope! No, I think we are very much okay on that front. I think I might just avoid her for… our entire stay here, thank you.”

That was when Zevran piped up, “Ah, has Isabela joined us? What a pleasant surprise! I will have to go _reacquaint_ myself with her very soon,” he said, lifting an eyebrow suggestively.

Cassandra’s blush deepened still further at the blatant insinuation that Zevran and Isabela would probably be spending the entire night in bed together. And the redder she got, the most Varric smiled up at her, and the more charmed he became.

As the king and queen to Josie and Hawke (“You know, I’ve always felt a connection to you, because I, too, enjoy slaying dragons in my free time and saving the world from destruction”), and as Leliana sent a messenger to find the Inquisitor and her husband, Cassandra pulled Varric aside for a moment.

“How exactly is it that you know the king of Ferelden?” she hissed.

Varric skirted around the subject. “It’s a bit of a long story, and not one I feel think the king and I want to share in the middle of this giant hall. I’ll tell you later, I promise.”  And he knew he would... when he needed something to distract Cassandra from asking about the damn cat.

She looked at him suspiciously, but before she could say anything more, one of the side doors opened, and out walked Bethany, holding the cat in her arms.

“Varric, I’ve finished unpacking, can you point me towards the tavern- oh. Hello,” Bethany said lamely, realizing very quickly who was standing in front of her.

“Bethany, meet the king and queen of Ferelden,” Varric said, motioning to the couple unnecessarily.

Bethany froze as the Queen slowly walked over to her, smiling. “Ah, yes! Hello, your majesties! I’m sorry I don’t look a bit more polished, I’ve only just arrived myself,” Bethany said, quickly readjusting the cat in her arms so she could attempt to bow a little.

“I didn’t even notice. It’s very nice to meet you...” The Queen trailed off, looking for a name.

“Bethany! Bethany Hawke. You seem to have met my sister, Marian.”

The Queen motioned to the cat, her eyes squinting, “And who is this?”

Bethany blushed a little. “I... his name is, um, Apawstate. My cat.”

The queen paused, squinting at the cat for a good long moment, and Varric’s heart stopped.

He remembered suddenly that Blondie had been a Grey Warden in Amaranthine. That he had been made one by the very person that stood in front of him.

 _She can’t know, she hasn’t seen him in ten years, there is no way,_ Varric told himself.

The queen kept staring at the cat, and now she was glaring at it. The cat look like it was about to leap from Bethany’s arms and run for the hills.

“Apawstate.”

“Yes?” Bethany’s blush had changed to a stark white sheet that covered her skin.

“Hm,” the Queen said, pursing her lips. “I knew a man once, a mage. Had a cat almost exactly like this one, called him Ser Pounce-a-lot.” She looked up at Bethany, raising an eyebrow. Bethany, Varric, and Hawke seemed to all hold their breaths.

She knew.

Fuck.

“Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep the cat.” She gave Bethany a little smirk. “You be sure to take care of this one. Sometimes a cat can be quite the troublemaker. Wouldn’t want him getting into any trouble around here, right?”

Bethany gave the queen a cautious look. “…No?”

The queen’s radiant smile returned, and she reached out to pet the cat’s head. “Well then, good luck with your cat! Now, Alistair, let’s get settled in our room. I want to sit down, I’m not made for traipsing across the countryside like a I used to.” And without a backward glance, the queen was gone.

Bethany looked at Varric and Hawke, who in turn looked at each other, all three of them beginning to breathe again.

“What just happened?” Josephine asked, looking between the three of them.

“I really don’t know,” Varric said, and it was the honest truth.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anders makes everything more complicated. Goddammit Anders.


	9. Chapter 9

 

And then, things began to happen, very very quickly, and the day Cassandra dreaded had arrived. Josephine had been threatening it to her since the beginning of preparations, but the fact that it was here made Cassandra shudder.

The tailor was standing in front of Cassandra with a dozen swatches of white fabric, trying to ask her what kind of silhouette she wanted for her dress.

They weren’t in the war room, but instead in the personal room of this expensive, fancy tailor that Josephine had found. He had dozens of pieces of cut fabrics and lace strewn around the room, and it was the most disorganized mess she had ever seen.

“I don’t even know what kinds of silhouettes dresses have!” she said, then she wished she hadn’t, because the poor man launched into monologue about what different kinds of dresses can do to different figures.

Cassandra gave Josephine a look that said ‘I am going to kill this man if you don’t shut him up’, and Josephine seemed to get the message.

“Why don’t you show her some of the sketches you brought for her?” Josie said, and the tailor turned to Josie with glee.

“I can do you one better!” He spoke in a thick, Antivan accent, and his clothing was made of fine, shiny silks, the kind that Josephine liked to wear, and that Cassandra tended to avoid at all costs. “I have a dress she can try on! When you sent me a letter, telling me about your, ah...” He looked Cassandra up and down. She scowled at him. “Lovely young bride. I started work on a design that would suit her, a warrior, strong and confident, yet with a soft, romantic side.”

Josephine looked pleasantly surprised. “You took my advice to heart!”

The man preened, clearly proud of himself. “They do not call me the best tailor in Antiva for nothing?”

“Josephine, how am I paying for the best tailor in Antiva? Actually, how am I paying for any of this?”

Josephine waved the question away. “The Divine is covering the cost of most of it, and remember, your fiancé is viscount of one of the Free Marches’ most prominent city-states. But Most Holy said she would cover it because she was the one that proposed first.”

Cassandra scoffed and turned her attention back to the tailor. “So you have apparently made a dress for me, not knowing my tastes?”

“Well, Lady Cassandra, I was told that to cater to  your tastes would mean no dress at all. So I made do with what I could.”

“Cassandra, please, give the dress a try. You’ll look lovely, and maybe you’ll even like it!”

“I _highly_ doubt that.”

“Please?” Josephine was giving her ridiculous puppy dog eyes, and Cassandra relented, allowing the tailor to pull her into away into the changing room in the back, throwing the half finished dress onto her.

The bodice fit in all the wrong places, pulling too tight around her midriff and yet too loose around her hips and her bust line. She looked down, noting how large he had made the area for the bust, and simply raised an eyebrow.

“It obviously needs to be fitted to your measurements a little more,” he said, shrugging, before turning Cassandra around and pulling the lacing tighter.

The skirt was still half a foot above the ground, and Cassandra felt more ridiculous in this dress than she had ever felt before. Her cheeks burned a bright red, and she tried to think about anything other than how ridiculous she looked in this dress.

“So Cassandra,” Josephine said, her voice floating over the barrier, “how have you been adjusting? All of this is happening so quickly, I must admit I’m worried for you. In Antiva, a wedding can take up to three years to plan!”

“I am fine, I think,” Cassandra said, considering. “It is going much too fast, but honestly I would just rather have all of this over and done with. You know how much I hate this kind of ordeal.”

Josie laughed. “I know, and I feel terrible that you don’t want this kind of wedding. If it makes you feel any better, for the honeymoon, you two can find somewhere completely and utterly alone.”

Cassandra hummed, and as she imagined it, she smiled. “Where do you think you will go?” Josephine asked.

“I do not know. In truth, I have not thought much past the ceremony.” Cassandra looked down at the floor, remembering the last real conversation she and Varric. Since then, they had been skirting around the issue, not really being able to make conversation beyond Varric’s casual quips.

Josie was silent for a moment before answering. “The beaches in Antiva are beautiful around this time. And Rivain can sometimes be a fun adventure.”

Cassandra considered it. “A beach would be nice, as long as it were sunny, unlike the damned Storm Coast.” They fell into silence for a moment, but the conversation with Varric was still on Cassandra’s mind. “Josephine, may I ask you a question?”

“I had a feeling you had something else on your mind.”

“Varric asked me something, the other night. As I said, I have not considered much past the wedding. I think... well, I have realized that I may be avoiding it.”

“You have not considered what will happen after?” Josie asked, finishing Cassandra’s thought for her.

“A Lord Seeker still has not been chosen, and there is a… possibility they may chose me. I can, of course, turn down the position, but...” Cassandra paused, biting her lip. “I do not know what I would do otherwise. I have been a Seeker for so long, I’ve dedicated my life to it.”

“But if you did that, you would never see Varric,” Josephine said, and she could hear the woman audibly sigh. “I understand your dilemma, even if I am not the person best suited to deal with it. I would not be able to advise on something like that. But what do you want to do?”

Cassandra groaned. “That is the problem. I love the Seekers, more than anything, but I feel the same way for Varric.”

“Have you considered just continuing to be a Seeker, then? Not Lord - or it would it be Lady? - Lady Seeker, but simply staying on as a Seeker? And would they let you stay in Kirkwall, doing your work from there?”

“...I do not know. Most Seekers simply travel to where they need to be, not staying anywhere too long. There are bases, yes, but there was always so much to do for the order…”

“Then would it not be advantageous to the Seekers to have one of their best agents centered in Kirkwall? It’s one of the most important cities in the Free Marches, and you would be able to get to the Free Marches and northern Ferelden at a moment’s notice really.” Cassandra bit her lip, mulling this over, and Josephine continued, “Or is the problem that you do want to be Lady Seeker, but you do not want to leave Varric?”

“It’s… many different things. And you ask lots of questions, do you know that?” That made Josephine giggle.

“Well, think about it. It may not solve the problem of you traveling so often - and you would still need to find something to do when you aren’t - but don’t try and make it a choice between your past with the Seekers and your future with Varric. Not everything requires sacrifice, Cassandra.”

Cassandra smiled to herself. “I… thank you.”

“Anything for a friend.”

“Er, ladies? I have been finished lacing up this back for a little while,” the Antivan tailor said.

Cassandra looked down, still horrified at the fit of the dress. She shuffled out of the dressing room, letting Josephine see the dress.

It was not the worst dress Cassandra had ever been put in. It did not have long sleeves, but rather a sheer lacy thing at the top that cut off at the top of her arms. And the skirt was not too terrible, although she attributed that to the fact that it didn’t seem finished. But there was not an overabundance of fabric, and the train was short and simple. She still felt awkward and clumsy in the dress, though, and if they tried to make her wear heels with it she would outright refuse.

Josephine’s eyes widened, looking Cassandra up and down, “This… this is a wonderful start! Havier, you are a brilliant man! I mean, alterations must be made, of course, and certain things to accentuate Cassandra’s lovely figure. But Cassandra, you look _beautiful_.”  Josephine took Cassandra’s hands and met her eyes.

“The dress is uncomfortable, but...” Cassandra sighed, and gave Josie a small smile. “It is not intolerable.  If he makes it a bit easier to move in, I will tolerate it for my wedding.”

Josephine almost squealed in glee. “Oh, excellent!”

“And, truly, thank you. I now at least know where to begin in sorting out my thoughts.”

Josie simply shrugged it off. “As I said, you’re my friend. I will help you in any way I can, whether it’s planning your wedding so you don’t have to, or simply being someone to talk to. And I’ll plan your honeymoon for you, too, if you like.” Josephine got a little twinkle in her eyes, and Cassandra shut her down immediately.

“I think we will be able to do that ourselves, but thank you for the offer.” Josephine pouted for a moment, but quickly went back to planning the dress, and Cassandra resigned herself to being in this dress for much longer than she was comfortable.

She watched the clock as the minutes ticked on and on, while the skirt and bodice were twisted and cut and sewn back together while she was still in it, and Cassandra thought she was going to explode.

And then, her savior, for once, came into the room. It was Skyhold’s only messenger, who had been very, very careful to knock this time.

“Lady Josephine? Seeker Cassandra?” he said, a slight waver in his voice.

“Yes, Jim?” Josephine called through the door.

“Um, someone has just arrived, and has specifically asked to see you and Lady Cassandra.”

Josie raised an eyebrow. “Curious. Do we know them?”

“Yes? She sent a message, as well - I’m to tell you that ‘Madame de Fer specifically requests your presence, since she knows the tailor has finally arrived.”

Josephine’s eyes widened. “No. She did not come.”

“Were you not expecting her to?” Cassandra asked. “We did invite her.”

“Cassandra, there are people that we have to invite to everything, but you don’t expect to actually come. We also invited Empress Celene, but if she showed up I might have a heart attack.”

“There is a substantial difference between the Empress of Orlais and _Vivienne_ ,” Cassandra countered.

“But the Empress of Orlais has not directly gone against Leliana’s doctrine by establishing her own Circle of Magi.”

“...I see,” Cassandra said, and Josie turned back to the door.

“Er... send her in?” Josie said, and they heard the messenger trot away to fetch Vivienne.

“Well,” Josie said with resignation, “this will… certainly be interesting.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Since Skyhold had began become busy with guests, Varric had began to carve himself out a spot in the tavern, close enough to watch the more interesting guests pour in and out and talk to each as the days passed by. In the days since he had taken up this post, he had seen some very, very interesting interactions. He had watched Isabela and Hawke fall back in step, which involved a ridiculous number of drinking contests and stupid bets. He had seen Dalish and Merrill get into an argument that seemed to be made up mostly of various elvhen words. And now he found himself watching the very awkward conversation between Hawke and Bull that he had known was coming since her arrival.

“So... you’re Qunari?” Hawke said, trying and failing to be casual.

Bull looked down at Hawke, and got a look in his eye that Varric could only compare as to the look foxes have when they play with their food. “Yep.”

“So. Um.  Should I apologize about that whole ‘killing the Arishok’ thing? Because I’m not really that sorry, but I know that pisses off people under the Qun when I talk about it.”

Bull shrugged. “I don’t mind. I’m Tal-Vashoth now, so he doesn’t matter much to me anyway. And before that... well, he was an ass. Do you make a habit of killing Qunari?”

Hawke raised her eyebrows. “No! Not unless they attack me first! And a lot of things attack me first, but I don’t go out of my way to kill Qunari more than other people.”

Bull grinned and smacked Hawke on the back making her lurch forward. “Alright, then! I think we’ll get along just fine. Now, I read the _Tale of the Champion_ , and you mention dragons a lot in there…”

Varric snorted from his little corner, and he knew that the two of them were going to get along famously from here on out. Although he was worried they would both just decide to leave before the actual ceremony and go off to fight dragons together in the middle of nowhere.

“They won’t leave - they love you too much to leave without seeing you marry her.” Varric jumped, and turned, to see Cole standing by his chair.

Varric gave a hearty laugh. “Hey kid! When did you get here! And did you bring Maryden with you? We need some music going on inside the tavern. It’s too quiet these days.”

Cole nodded towards the door, and Varric saw Maryden walk in right on cue. She waved, before taking up her old spot near the stairs.

“She is happy you’re getting married. Everyone is, which makes sense, it’s why we’re here, but… you’re not with her. Why?”

Varric sighed. The kid didn’t beat around the bush, he would give him that. “It’s complicated. I’m trying to give her some room to think about things. Turns out that things don’t stop being complicated after she’s said ‘yes’,” Varric said, and a bitter tone entered his voice.

“She loves you, though.”

“Yeah. But she also loves her job. And I don’t want to make her choose between the two. So I told her to chose the Seekers.”

Cole frowned. “But that leave you unhappy, doesn’t it?”

Varric shrugged. “That happens sometimes. Honestly, it could be worse. At least I love her, and I’ll have her sometimes. That’s more than I’ve ever had before.”

Cole frowned at him, but sat down next to him, silent, watching everyone in the bar. They sat in silence together, watching the rest of the tavern-goers idly.

“I want to hear her thoughts, so I could tell you how much she cares. But it’s gotten hard, and everyone in the tavern has always been so loud, but...” Cole’s eyes unfocused, looking off into the non-existent distance. “She loves you. I know that. It rings loudly, a constant hum that resonates through Skyhold, now. And you, you resonate with her, and it’s so loud and beautiful I don’t mind it.”

Varric gave the kid a small smile. “Well, it’s nice to know she loves me, but it’s not a question of love-“

“It’s not just love. It’s that, yes, but it feels like… a hand, grasping tight, not wanting to let go, a close embrace that no one wants to end.” Cole turned to Varric with an expression of great earnestness. “Talk to her. Please. You don’t want to let each other go, so don’t. Isn’t it that easy?”

“Sometimes. Not always, though.” Varric paused, thinking. “I’ll talk to her tonight about it. We can figure something out, maybe. You’re right, I don’t want to let her go.”

“Good. And remember, her favorite desert is-“

“Those sweet cakes the cook makes here, I know. Took me months to figure that out, but I’ve learned that if I need to get back on her good side, those things will at least get her in a talking mood.” Varric grinned, and the tension of the conversation lightened a little. “So, how _have_ you been doing? You just kind of showed up here and gave me marriage advice. You’ve been traveling with Maryden this whole time?”

Cole smiled, and started to tell Varric about the various places he’d been with Maryden and how many people he had helped. Varric found himself stunned even now by how genuinely nice a person Cole was. He kind of wanted to put Cole, Merrill, and Bethany all in one room, and see what would happen. Flower crowns, possibly.

“Also,” Cole said, in the middle of a lovely description of how he helped a little girl find her lost pet, “why is there a cat shaped like a man over there?”

Varric blood went cold as he followed Cole’s stare, and it was Bethany, Merrill and Isabela, all at one table with the damn cat sitting in Bethany’s lap. Isabela and Merrill seemed

“Shhh!” Varric said, motioning to  for Cole to shut up. “Don’t say that so loud!”

Cole tilted his head to the side, and Varric immediately felt bad for shushing him. “But he seems sad? Why is the man - or is he a cat? - sad?”

“Because he’s an asshole,” Varric grumbled to himself, before addressing Cole again. “Listen, I need you to do something for me. Don’t mention that the cat over there is a man. To anyone. At all.”

“Why? Is he not supposed to be a cat?”

“Well, no, he’s not, but he’s also not supposed to be here. And if Cassandra finds out, she might actually be honor-bound to kill him, or something.”

“Who is he?”

“A person who did something very very bad.”

Cole frowned. “Part of him feels like he wants a hug. The other part... it feels too familiar. I don’t like it.”

“You shouldn’t Cole. He’s a... very special person. And not in a good way.”

“Why is he here?”

Varric considered the thought for a moment. “Because I can’t say no to the person he got to fall in love with him. And I don’t think he can do that much damage while he’s a cat.”

Cole hummed. “He doesn’t want to hurt people. He wants to help. But he’s much more... angry about it.”

“That’s about the sum of it.”

Cole looked around the bar again. “And Hawke feels different. I noticed that when I came in,”

Varric laughed. “Yeah, I know. She got married since you last saw her, that tends to change people,”

Cole frowned. “No, That’s not it. Well, it is, but it isn’t. She is older, and part of her is locked away with another, but there’s something else.”

“What do you mean?” Varric asked, confused. As far as he knew, the only big change for Hawke since the last time Cole had seen her was her marriage.

Cole closed his eyes, concentrating. “She thinks a lot back to her husband, his cold eyes, warm when they look down, a tiny hand in her own, asking for more stories, and more ones with dragons, and she’s startled by how similar they are.”

Varric’s mind ground to a complete halt. He stopped registering the outside world for a moment, thinking over Cole’s words several times before he actually processed them.

“Cole, are you telling me… Hawke has a kid?”

Cole looked down at him. “Yes, I think so. He’s very tiny, he can’t hold a sword yet, but-“

“ _Andraste’s flaming knickers the Hawke sisters are going to be the death of me,_ ” Varric said, glaring at Hawke’s back, watching her have a wildly animated conversation about  dragon-hunting with Bull.

“She didn’t tell you?” Cole asked, sounding a bit taken aback.

“No she _fucking_ didn’t.”

“Are you going to tell her?”

Varric narrowed his eyes. “Nope.”

“No?”

“I’m going to make blatant allusions to it until Hawke becomes so uncomfortable she caves.”

“Oh,” Cole said, looking between Varric and Hawke’s back, “This is one of the times I shouldn’t have mentioned what I heard, isn’t it?”

“Maybe. But thank you for telling me. If Fenris just showed up one day with a kid, I might have fainted. Then killed her.”

“You couldn’t kill her.”

“Okay, I couldn’t. But she would probably wish I could.”

Varric thought about the kid, and what he might look like. He quickly came to the conclusion that the kid must be too adorable for words, if she thought just seeing the kid would distract Varric from being pissed she didn’t tell him. Probably a mop of shiny black hair, and Varric hoped the kid had Hawke’s eyes. Okay, yeah, the kid was probably cute enough to distract him from being pissed at her.

He looked around the bar, and the two Hawke sisters, their friends, Maryden, Cole, all assembled in one spot for the first time ever. It was a picture of his life, however incomplete it still was. He thought about what it would be like once everyone was there, seeing the important people to him, and to Cassandra, gathered together. Sure, there would be enough nobles to shake a stick at, but if the people he cared about were there, well, he handle the rest.

Varric shook his head, smiling a little to himself.

“You’re not really angry, are you?”

“Nope. Don’t tell Hawke, though.”

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

It was late when Cassandra returned to the room, still tense from the extended dress fitting. Not only had she spent far too long in that ill-fitting dress, but she had unfortunately been caught in the crossfire between Josephine and Vivienne.

Madame de Fer had not been… unpleasant, but, as all encounters with her were, it had been intense and exhausting. And Cassandra shuddered at the thought of having to be in the room with her and Leliana any time soon.

She spotted Varric sitting in the chair at the desk, a pair of small spectacles on his face as he read his letters, and she smiled. He barely looked like himself with the spectacles on, and yet she found them utterly and completely adorable.

The door shut behind her, and he looked up. “Hey, sweetheart.”

She laughed and crossed the room to sit on their small bed. “You know, for someone so fond of nicknames, you have yet to come up with a good nickname for me besides ‘Seeker’.”

Varric shrugged, turning the chair to face her. “Haven’t really given thought to a new nickname for you. I don’t really change nicknames for people that often. ‘Seeker’ still works, technically.”

“There’s a lot of history behind that name for us,” she said.

“That there is.” Varric turned completely towards her to look at her on the bed. “I wanted to talk to you about that, actually.”

“I want to talk about it as well.” She sighed, looking straight into Varric’s eyes. “I do not know everything. I know that, in the future, I want to be with you. But I also know that I don’t want to give up my life as a Seeker.”

Varric raised an eyebrow slightly. “And… those two things aren’t mutually exclusive, sort of? Because, as I understand it, being Lady Seeker tends to be a bit time consuming. And requires you to, you know, live wherever the hell the Seeker base is.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not becoming Lady Seeker, then.”

Varrics eyes widened, and he slowly began to walk over to the bed, next to Cassandra. “You don’t want to be Lady Seeker? Or you’re giving it up? Because I’m not going to allow you to give up something that big just because you want to stay in the shit-hole that is Kirkwall a  little bit longer.”

Cassandra shook her hand and reached out to take Varric’s hand. “No. I am doing it because it is not something that I want. But that does not mean I must give up my role as a Seeker… And Seekers can work anywhere, as long as they can go where they need to.” She squeezed Varric hand in reassurance.

“So, you might be able to stay? With me? In Kirkwall?” Varric said hesitantly, and Cassandra nodded.

“There are a lot of things that I will need to work out, and it’s not set in stone, and I will have to deal with finding a new Lady Seeker, but-“

“But I get to keep you.” Varric gave a soft smile, squeezing her hand back tightly, before letting go of her hand and pulling her face close to his, giving her a ridiculously earnest kiss. She leaned into it, kissing him back, before pulling away, looking straight into his eyes.

“I love you,” he said softly, still holding her face.

“And I you.” And she pulled him close again, falling back onto the bed and pulling him with her.

 

* * *

 

“I will still be traveling quite a lot, even when I am rooted in Kirkwall,” Cassandra said. She was lying under the blankets with Varric’s arm around her bare waist.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from one of the best Seekers I know.”

“One of?” Cassandra asked lightly, pulling herself closer to Varric to settle her warm body against his.

“Well, okay, the only Seeker I know, so you may be the best.”

“Thank you for the ringing endorsement.”

Varric laughed. Cassandra felt the vibrations in his chest, and it sent slight chills down her spine. “Great wordsmith Varric Tethras, wooer of women and bedder of Seekers.”

Cassandra snorted. “Your new title, then? Wooer of women?”

“Well, just one woman. One very special, unique woman which, in my opinion, is better than a gaggle of women.”

“Sweet-talker.”

“You know it.”

They lapsed into silence for a long moment before Cassandra spoke again. “You do not mind that I will not be home all the time?”

Varric turned to face her, leaning on the pillow. “Well, I never expected you to be a housewife, Seeker. I’m just happy that I get to share a home with you, whenever you’re there.”

She smiled, brushing some of his hair back so she could see his face. “And I am glad that, for the first time in years, I will have a true home to go to.”

“And you say you aren’t good with words.” Varric pulled her in for another heated kiss, and he began to kiss down her neck, then lower and lower, and Cassandra moaned, suddenly focusing much less on sappy banter with her fiancé, and much more on what his lips were doing.

 

* * *

 

 

Cassandra had a dreamless sleep that night. When she woke, Varric’s arms were tight around her waist again, and she realized that she had somehow become the little spoon in the night. She didn’t mind, relishing the feeling of waking up in Varric’s arms. She was almost back to sleep when a knock came to the door.

“Seeker Pentaghast? Serah Tethras?”

Cassandra twisted her body to see if Varric was awake yet, and he stirred slightly.

“Yes?” Cassandra called out to the voice behind the door.

“Both of you are requested in the war room.”

Cassandra looked out the window and suddenly noticed how high the sun was. “What time is it?” she asked, startled that she had slept so late.

“Almost noon.”

Cassandra bolted up in bed, and suddenly Varric was far more awake, looking up at her extremely confused.

“Fuck!”

“Get up, we’re late!”

“So?” She glared at him, and he raised his hands in defense, also getting out of bed and trying to find any clothing.

They were out and down the halls not long after, Cassandra pulling at her clothes to try and make herself look presentable. Varric was still pulling her hair back, a roguish grin on his face.

“Cassandra, it’s not big deal, it’s not like they don’t know anything.”

“Still. I do not like to be late. Ever.”

“I know, but give us some slack. We made up last night, and frankly, I was more concerned with the fact that I get to keep you than that we were supposed to wake up early the next day.”

“You don’t get to _keep_ me. I am simply staying in Kirkwall.”

“Fair enough. Would you like me to phrase like you get to have me? I mean, cause that’s what it also is.”

She smirked. “I already have you, in more ways than one,”

“Don’t you dare tempt me to pull you aside in a dark corner Seeker. We’re already late, which you are all up in arms about.”

“Maybe later.”

“Seeker! I’m scandalized!” She was almost laughing at this point, and Varric had a huge smile on his face, which matched their look of complete disheveledness as they walked through the doors to the war room.

“Cassandra.”

Her blood ran cold at the voice she heard as she walked in. It was a voice she hadn’t heard in years, since she’d left Nevarra. She was suddenly very, very aware that she looked exactly like she had gotten out of bed after a passionate night of sex.

“Uncle Vestalus,” she said breathlessly, staring at him in complete disbelief.

Josephine walked around the war table, her eyes expressing her sympathy for Cassandra. “The Pentaghasts showed up this morning… completely unexpected, I might add. And your uncle requested to speak with you.”

She hadn’t seen him in more than 20 years, and he looked his age. He had grown into a fragile old man, although he still stood tall and proud. His eyes looked more alert than she had seen them before, as for once they were truly focused on her.

She regretted very much not bothering to make sure she looked put together after last night.

“Cassandra,” he said, looking her up and down, an eyebrow lifted pointedly.

“I… we slept late.” She could feel how red her cheeks were getting, but her uncle didn’t mention it again. Instead he moved on, a slight smile gracing his face.

“Ah, yes, you and your fiancé. I must say, I was surprised when I heard the news, Cassandra. You never seemed interested in marriage. Now, the rest of your relatives were less enthused that you chose to marry the viscount of a Free Marches city - well, the ones you invited, anyway; the ones you didn’t are probably writing to express their displeasure - but I suppose they should just be happy that you are marrying at all.”

Cassandra gave her uncle a suspicious look. “And you? How do you feel?”

“I don’t like to get into the political machinations of the rest of the Pentaghasts,” he said mildly, and Cassandra rolled her eyes.

“Unless they’ve been dead for at least thirty years.”

Vestalus gave her a stern look. “Your tongue hasn’t dulled either, I see. Never mind that, though. Where is this lover of yours... and I still must discuss something with you.”

Varric waved, bringing Vestalus’ attention to him, standing next to Cassandra. “Hello. Viscount Varric Tethras, at your service.”

Vestalus’ other eyebrow flew up, and he simply stared at Varric.

“You had no idea he was a dwarf, did you,” Cassandra said flatly.

Vestalus still simply stared. “How would I guess that you would marry a dwarf?”

“He’s a well known author. And was a prominent member of the Inquisition. And Kirkwall of one of the most important Free Marcher states.”

“That severely overstates the importance of Kirkwall,” Varric muttered, trying to give Vestalus a look of his own.

“Well, this… is certainly a development,” Vestalus said, finally taking his eyes off of Varric. “I will let you tell the rest of your family who, exactly, your fiancé is.”

“I intend to,” Cassandra gritted out.

“Then I have a matter to discuss with you. I was told you have not discussed your wedding parties yet, and I would like to include myself in that discussion.”

Cassandra finally walked a little further into the room, still eyeing up her uncle. “And why would I do that?”

Vestalus looked affronted. “Because I am to talk you down the aisle, of course! And I would like to approve of your wedding party, and include some of the Pentaghasts so that they don’t throw tantrums-“

“No!” Cassandra cried out, and Vestalus jumped, “No, to all of that! I will _not_ have any of the Pentaghasts in my wedding, and you will certainly not be a part of my wedding at all. End of discussion.”

“Cassandra! Be reasonable, I raised you! And if you don’t include your family, they will be furious.”

She scoffed. “I do not think ignoring me half the time and leaving food out for Anthony and I counts as raising. You loved the dead more than the living. And the rest of the Pentaghasts can leave for all I care about their opinion, they will not insert themselves into my wedding.”

Vestalus glared. “Stop throwing such a tantrum, you are acting like a child.”

“You wouldn’t know what I acted like as a child!”

“Alright!” Josephine stepped in between them, raising her hands up, “Both of you, stop. Cassandra-” she motioned to a chair, “-sit, calm down, and we can have an actual discussion on the wedding party.”

“I will not be having the Pentaghasts in my wedding party!”

“Yes you are!”

“And Serah Pentaghast!” Josephine turned on Vestalus. “You will please stop upsetting your niece and the bride-to-be. Any discussion on the political ramifications of the wedding will go through me, and you will stop trying to take control of this wedding after being here for less than a day. Do you understand?”

Vestalus looked between Josephine and Cassandra before regaining some of his composure, and nodding silently at Josephine, before speaking to Cassandra. “I will speak to you later. It was… a pleasure to meet you, Lady Montilyet.” He passed Varric on his way out without a word to him.

Varric called after him, “Nice meeting you, too Serah Pentaghast! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!”

Josie sighed. “Not helping the situation, Varric.”

Varric took the seat next to Cassandra’s. “I don’t care. I’ll have the patience to care later, but right now, he ruined what had been a very good morning. So, fuck him for the foreseeable future.”

“Agreed.”

Josephine looked between the two of them,.“I would be frustrated, but frankly he was an ass and I’m glad he left. Now, onto the real discussion… Who are each of you actually having in your wedding parties?”

 

* * *

 

 

“It’s official!” Varric said, bursting into the Hanged Man later that day. “Hawke, you are officially my best man!”

“Damn right I am!” Hawke said, jumping up from her seat with Isabela and Merrill, Bethany sitting not far from them. She raised her cup of ale. “To the best damn man - well, woman, but that’s a technicality. To me!” Varric laughed as half the bar raised their glass and drank with Hawke, the other half rolling their eyes and returning to their own conversations.

Varric took the empty seat at the table. “And you will be pleased to know, you all have roles in my wedding party as well. Although everything is still a bit undecided, technically.”

“Okay, but all of that is less important than me being your best man, really.”

“Hawke.”

“Okay, I’ll shut up about it now.”

“Thanks.” Varric waved over the barmaid, ordering himself the same ale he had been drinking constantly since he had gotten to Skyhold. Really, he was going to have to start breaking into some of Skyhold’s private stores soon.

“Oh, Varric, I’m so excited! This wedding is going to be beautiful, has Cassandra figured out her dress yet?” Merrill asked.

“That’s for you to ask her. Actually, don’t. Any time I ask about it she just makes disgusted noises, so you may want to just avoid the subject altogether.”

“You know, Varric...” Bethany said, leaning forward a little. “When I first got here, you said you would tell me the story of how you and Cassandra found each other. I think I’d like to hear that now.”

“You’re probably the only one who hasn’t heard it, sweetheart,” Isabela said, rolling her eyes.

“Would you like to tell it then? Or do I get to tell the story of how I, and the wonderful love of my life-“

“Oh shut up, tell your damned story. But expect me to make witty quips along the way.”

“Would I expect anything less?” Varric settled down into the chair. “Alright, so, where to start? We first met when your cat destroyed Kirkwall and your sister fled the city. She found me, being the good Seeker she is, and dragged me into an interrogation room, where she interrogated me on every detail of my book, it was all very romantic…”

He told the story well into the night, with Isabela and Hawke and occasionally Merrill stepping in to either add something completely useless or to correct where Varric had left something embarrassing out. Bethany was completely enraptured by it, and when Varric finished she looked at him incredulously.

“So, not only are you marrying a fan, you’re marrying a woman who dragged you across Thedas, stabbed your book, and still manages to be the only fan of your terrible romance series?”

“We... have a very special relationship,” Varric said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“You’ve managed to somehow have the most convoluted relationship out of all of us. I feel like that deserves a prize,” Isabela commented.

“Still, it’s nice to see how happy you are,” Bethany said, scratching the top of Apawstate’s head. She sighed. “Things have changed so much, haven’t they? For everyone, not just you, Varric.”

“Well, not everything’s changed. We’re all still sitting here, a group of assholes taking up space at the local bar.”

“Except now, two of them are married, and one of us is a cat. And we don’t have our favorite local guard-captain to come in and tell us to all go home,” Isabela said, cracking a smile. “You’ll probably hear it later, but I got a message from Aveline, to tell you that she will, eventually, be here, once she feels like she can actually leave Kirkwall without it being destroyed or invaded. Again.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less of my illustrious captain of the guard.” Varric raised a glass and drank to Aveline. “Speaking of missing companions, though, any word on when Fenris is getting here? Or is he still ‘sick’? Varric said, privately enjoying the slight nervousness that Hawke suddenly acquired.

“He sent a letter the other day, saying that he’s left and will be here within the next week or so. So, soon, the whole gang will be together again!”

“Except Sebastian,” Merrill piped up.

“Well, he shouldn’t have invaded my city if he wanted an invite to my wedding. I don’t invite people who destroy my city to my wedding.” Varric glared down at the cat, who shied away from his look. “Well, I propose a toast then! To the best wedding party a dwarf could ever have!”

Everyone raised their glasses drank, with Isabela adding, “Even though some of them can’t be bothered to be here right now!”

It was another late night at the tavern for him, and he wondered in the back of his mind how Cassandra was doing, still stuck with Josephine trying to figure out what to do with the Pentaghasts. But he knew that, even if Cassandra came back frustrated to all hell, he could certainly relieve her tension later that night.

 

* * *

 

 

“I am going to kill Vestalus,” Cassandra  declared, walking into Leliana’s makeshift office in one of Skyhold’s many rooms. She plopped down in the chair across from Leliana, looking completely and utterly drained, and Leliana could guess it was almost entirely from the stress of her family. She looked at her friend in pity.

“You can’t kill Vestalus, he’s your uncle.”

“Bullshit.”

“Cassandra, would you really kill your uncle for trying to be a part of your wedding?”

“….No. But I can fantasize about it.”

Leliana laughed a little.“You still need to give him a reason why he cannot walk you down the aisle. I mean, traditionally, the role would fall to your male guardian, so he had every right to assume that he would be doing it.”

Cassandra gave a deep, heavy sigh. “I know. But. I do not feel like he deserves it. None of the Pentaghasts deserve a role in this. They were never family to me, so they do not get to pretend to be now.”

Leliana reached out for Cassandra’s hand, “I know. And trust me, they will not have any role in your wedding party if I have anything to say about it. They have no right to you now.”

Cassandra gave her a small smile. “Thank you, my dear friend.”

“It’s the least I can do, since I started this whole thing.”

“I am glad you did, though,” Cassandra said, looking into the fire. “If you had not, Varric and I would have danced around each other like two love-struck teenagers for another decade.” Cassandra shifted, letting go of Leliana’s hand. “I do not know why I am always so uncertain about our relationship. In my mind, I know he loves me, I should have no hesitations or reservations. And yet..” Cassandra trailed off.

Leliana smiled sadly. “Love makes fools of us all. You should ask the queen, actually. When she and Alistair were still trying to figure each other out, they were quite… well, ridiculous, but don’t tell them I said that.”

“I don’t see myself being able to talk to the queen at all. I feel she is more your guest than mine,” Cassandra said, giving Leliana a look.

“Ah, well, guilty as charged. But they needed to be invited anyway, on technicality. You and Varric are _just_ important enough to merit that.”

Cassandra shook her head. “The entire idea is ridiculous, really. I should just be able to marry Varric and be done with it.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have become such an important person in Thedas. Or decided to fall in love with the viscount of Kirkwall and very famous author.”

“Oh, don’t remind me,” Cassandra said, rolling her eyes.

“Well, look on the bright side. You are marrying the man you love, and everyone you care about will be there. Just... also a lot of people you don’t care about.”

Cassandra blushed. “Well, I wasn’t saying this was a nightmare. Far from it, actually. It has been one of the more pleasant times of my life, and I think the first one where I’m not fighting something. And I have you to thank for that.” Cassandra smiled a genuine, real smile at her friend, and Leliana’s heart ached.

“Cassandra, I think I can say with certainty that I am your best friend. It is my job to make you this happy.” And it was true. Leliana knew that she was one of the few people that Cassandra had ever gotten close to, and gotten to care for, and Leliana was incredibly grateful for that. Their friendship was uniquely close, and while Leliana had many, many friends she cared for and cared about, there were few whose friendship she felt as honored for having as Cassandra’s.

“Your job is not to make me happy. But I appreciate it, nonetheless. You are the best friend I could ask for.” Cassandra looked so completely earnest and exposed, and again she took Leliana’s hand, with no intent to let go. And Leliana finally knew beyond doubt that she had made the right choice in bringing Cassandra here to get married.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been a while, and I blame it on a ton of school work that I ended up having to do, plus a very hectic spring break trip. But It's back! And I should be updating more regularly again, just much slower than I used to, because there is always more school work to do. But here it is! Chapter 11!

“So, how, exactly, are you going to tell Vestalus that you don’t intend to have anyone walk you down the aisle?” Varric asked his fiancée almost a week later. She was braiding her hair up, and pinning up at the crown of her head.

“Can I not just tell him I intend to walk myself down the aisle?”

“You think that’s going to go over well? Really?”

Cassandra shook her head, “No, it probably won’t. But I do not really care at this point. I don’t want him here, and it is not as if Nevarra can start a war because of my uncle, he’s not that important anyway.”

Varric chuckled, walking up behind Cassandra, putting an arm around her waist, and kissing her shoulder, “that’s my Seeker. Stubborn to the core, and willing to destroy international relations over it.”

Cassandra opened her mouth to object, but Varric continued, “And I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you were a people pleaser I wouldn’t be marrying you.”

“Hmph,” She pouted, but Varric could see that she was trying not to smile, just a little bit. He laughed again, kissing her shoulder again, then her cheek.

“You know you’re cute when you pout.”

“I am not cute!”

“You are  _ adorable _ ,” Varric said, exaggeratedly, and she picked up her comb off the dresser in front of her, and threw it at him.

“Shut up, you ridiculous dwarf. Come on, We have to deal with our insane guests again.”

“They are a crazy group of people, aren’t they?” Varric said, as they walked out the door, side by side, “We’ve got the entire Kirkwall crew almost here, the Inquisition inner circle are all  _ finally _ here, with sera and blackwall finally showing up,”

“Remind me to lock up all of our possessions,” Cassandra said dryly.

“Leliana is one step ahead of you, and has someone shadowing Sera at this point.”

“We really owe Leliana a lot.”

“Yes, yes we do. And, on top of all of them, we also have the least amount of Pentaghasts possible, which is apparently too many anyway, and the Kirkwall nobility are starting to show up, and the King and Queen of Ferelden seem to be enjoying their vacation here, and at this point there are so many people in Skyhold I can’t keep track of them all.”

“This whole thing has gotten ridiculous, hasn’t it?”

“Hey, whenever you want to elope, I’m all for it. Bran is used to me completely disregarding political ramifications, and I’m sure no one would hold it against us.”

“Leliana would,” Cassandra said, and that ended that.

The Great Hall was buzzing with noise one again, dozens of people simply standing about waiting for something to do while they were all there. And there was a sinking realization in Varric’s stomach that this was actually happening, and all of these people were there to see him marry the great person in Thedas, in his opinion.

He also noticed, at this point, the look that many of the Pentaghasts were giving him. News had apparently spread quickly between their new guests, and while Varric had not experienced the scandal first hand, it was not hard to see that the entire Pentaghast clan was slightly horrified at his marrying anyone from their bloodline, even if it was Cassandra. He also noticed that, it was general consensus among the Pentaghasts that Cassandra, while not a disappointment, was not exactly what they wanted. And it was that, frankly, that made Varric want to send them all away without a second thought. Even if it were not Cassandra, the snobbishness of the nobility was something he could only just barely tolerate. And when it came to Cassandra, all bets were off.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Vestalus walking up to the two of them, his robes swishing ridiculously behind him, “Cassandra.”

“Vestalus.”

“Have you amended your rash thoughts yet?”

She looked at Varric, and he rolled his eyes. “No, Vestalus, I have not. You will not be walking me down the aisle. Now, go. Away.”

“Can you at least give me a decent explanation, Cassandra. I have every right to give you away, and you know it.”

“Every  _ right _ ?” She snarled, with a look that could melt steel, “You have no right, and you know it!”

“I am you guardian, and your last living male relative!”

“That doesn’t mean shit!” She stepped away from Varric’s side, towering over Vestalus’ figure, “You spent my entire childhood paying more attention to your dead family than your living one. And that would not annoy me, if you were not trying to step into my life now, as if you were always there! You do not get to pretend that you a part of my life, just for political convenience!”

Varric wasn’t going to stop Cassandra, because frankly he knew she needed this, and it was quite entertaining to watch her yell at her uncle. The entire main hall had gone silent at this point, simply watching the altercation, the nobles twittering quietly to each other about what was happening. Varric could see Elanna Lavellan off in a corner, with her husband and daughter, quietly cheering Cassandra on as well. And Varric also saw Hawke, standing near the door, watching with a slight smile on her face. He caught her eye, and pointed at Cassandra, mouthing ‘damn!’ Varric simply nodded and smiled.

“Cassandra, stop it, you’re making a scene-“

“It is my damn wedding Vetalus,” She said through gritted teeth, and there was an impenetrable silence in the hall as the niece and uncle glared at each other. Varric at once saw a slight resemblance in the eyes, as it was the first time that he had seen actual emotion reach Vestalus’ eyes. They had the same glare, and he wondered if that was a Pentaghast thing, or simply something that ran in her branch of the family.

“Cassandra!” The tension was suddenly broken, by Leliana entering the hall, in full Divine wear.

“Leli- Divine Victoria,” Cassandra said, bowing her head slightly, and Vestalus bowed completely.

“Divine Victoria.”

“Vestalus. Cassandra. I see you two are… disagreeing.” Leliana raised an eyebrow, and it took a lot for Varric not to burst out laughing right there.

“It’s nothing, Most Holy, simply a disagreement on the wedding, nothing to worry about.”

Leliana turned to Vestalus, “Well, considering I am officiating the wedding, I might be a bit worried about it. Not to mention that your niece is a dear friend of mine. You remember how we were the hands of the divine together, correct?”

Vestalus went completely pale, and Varric gained just a little bit more satisfaction from that. And that was when he stepped in, “Divine Victoria! How good of you to join us, they were just discussing the logistics of the wedding. Loudly. In the middle of the hall.”

Vestalus was burning red, and for once, Cassandra was smirking with no shame at all.

“Well, I- I was not expecting my niece to escalate this into such a…  _ loud _ , discussion.”Vestalus stuttered, awkwardly trying to salvage the situation, and Varric was not having it.

“Well, I mean, you may not have been hearing her correctly, maybe that’s why she was yelling. You see, she was saying was that you were not in her wedding party, but you kept talking like you were.”

“Oh! Very interesting. Have you been having trouble hearing, Vestalus? Because if there is an issue, I’m sure we can find someone to help you with that.”

Vestalus looked like he wanted to sink into the floor.

“I- no, host Holy, I do not have hearing problems. I simply was hoping to have a role in my niece’s own wedding, as we are each others  _ last _ living relatives,” He said, reaching closer to Cassandra to try and show compassion. She pulled away from him, glaring.

“Really? I’m sure every other Pentaghast here would be quick to disagree that you are the last living relatives of each other. But if you truly wanted a role, why did you not contact her before this? Were you simply unaware of it? Are you that unattentive?”

“It’s not as if Cassandra and I were ever quite private affair after all. You could have come at any time, but it seems as if you’ve only gotten involved now to seem like you care. But you wouldn’t do that, Vestalus, would you?” Varric asked, looking up at the man.

The entire halls eyes were on them, and they all waited with baited breath to listen to Vestalus’ response.

“Never. I simply was never kept up on my dear nieces various dalliances. How was I supposed to know that she had decided to marry a dwarf, before she told the world. All I am trying to do is simply reconnect with my niece.”

“”If I wanted to be connected to you, I would be.” Cassandra said.

Varric smiled, shrugging, ‘Well, the lady has said her final word. If she wants to talk, she will. Okay?”

Vestalus looked like he was about to explode, glaring between Cassandra, Varric, and Most Holy, before simply nodding, and storming off.

The whole hall seemed to collectively breathe, and the nobles quickly began buzzing again, with many, many furtive glances at the three of them.

Cassandra turned to Leliana again, and smile on her face, “Thank you. You two are much better with twisting words around then I am.”

Leliana chuckled, slightly, “It is not a problem, he needed a talking to. He is not a bad man, though. You should speak to him.”

“I know he is not, and I know he does care, at least a little,” Cassandra conceded, “I just will not have him at my wedding. The role he wants to take…. That is not his. And it cannot go to the person it truly belongs to, so it will simply stay unfilled. It is that simple.”

Varric felt a quick, sharp pain at hearing this, realizing why it had been a such big deal for him to try and infringe on that in the first place. That role, was meant for Anthony alone, and it would belong to him, no matter what.

Varric took Cassandra’s hand in his own, gently running his thumb over the back of it. She looked down at him, and smiled sadly.

“Well, on to happier things,  you both have fittings to attend!” Leliana said, smiling broadly at the tow on them.

Cassandra groaned, and Varric gave a laugh, “What do you mean both of us, Leliana? I thought Hawke clarified that we weren’t covering up my lovely chest, it would be a crime against nature!”

Leliana raised an eyebrow, “If you wanted Hawke to plan this wedding, all of Skyhold would be on fire by now. So we are not taking Hawke’s word there, and you are getting a proper tunic that covers the chest.”

Varric sighed, and looked up at Cassandra, “This wedding isn’t about us, any more, is it? Because if this were my wedding, I wouldn’t close my shirt, and you would be in full armor.”

“Was this wedding ever really about us?”

Leliana rolled your eyes, “It’s still about you two, stop being so melodramatic about your clothing. If you want to, you can have another ceremony afterwards, in your terrible clothing with no nobles around. Fair?”

Cassandra and Varric looked between the two of them, quickly deciding, “Deal.”

“Absolutely.”

“Now!” Leliana said, clapping her hands together, “Come on, they’re probably waiting for you-“

“I got tired of waiting, darlings! And I have yet to see the groom- to-be, so I decided to come and grab Cassandra myself!” The three of them turned, to see Vivienne enter, as elegant and put-together as ever. She also didn’t look a day older, which didn’t surprise Varric in the slightest.

Vivienne looked at them both, smiling, and took Varrics hands, “Congratulations darling. You both completely deserve each other.”

Varric smiled, hoping that it was a compliment, “Madame De Fer, always a pleasure to see you. And thanks, although that sounds more like a condemnation than a congrats.”

Vivienne laughed as if the suggestion was ridiculous, “Never a condemnation darling, just a statement. I saw the way you two always looked at each other, and frankly I’m still appalled that it took you so long to get married. But,” Vivienne gave them a kind look, “you both love each other. That much is evident. So you absolutely deserve each other.”

Vivienne then turned a little towards Leliana, “Most Holy,” She said curtly, nodding slightly.

“Madame De Fer,” Leliana paused, looking for the right words, “It’s… good, to see you to. On a personal level, of course.”

“On a personal level, yes. It’s good to see you, and still in good health.”

Silence then filled in between them, and Varric became increasingly concerned that the temperature in the room was actually going down.

“So!” He said, clapping his hands together, “Why don’t you take Cassandra off to do dress things, Vivienne, and I will avoid my own fittings at all costs. Good?”

Vivienne rolled her eyes, “Oh Varric, a tunic that closed wouldn’t kill you. And I’m sure Dorian will hunt you down anyway.”

Hawke walked up to them then, a slight bounce in her step, “Not if I have anything to do with it. And Madame De Fer, with all due respect, it might kill him. I think he gets his life force from the sun on his chest. But, Varric, I have excellent news!”

Varric raised an eyebrow, “Should I be worried?”

“Nope! Fenris sent a letter ahead. He should be arriving tonight!” Hawke’s excitement seemed to be uncontainable, and Varric could understand.  He looked towards Vivienne, “So I guess I can’t spend the rest of the day in fittings after all! Have to be there for my best man. I would say woman, but that’s Cassandra.”

“How cute,” Hawke said, “You do realize she’s already agreed to marry you, right?”

“I’m sorry, if you have a problem with me flirting with my wife, might I remind you the entire  _ 7 years _ you and Fenris dances around each other?”

“…damn you, you’re right. Fine! I’ll shut up!” She took Varrics hand then, and saluted to the three other women, “Well, I’m off to steal Varric for the day and wait for my husband to return like a good wife!”

Varric rolled his eyes, “I don’t think it counts when you’re the one who left and both of you traveled the countryside murdering slavers for years.”

Hawke simply dragged Varric away, and Vivienne called after them, “At least try and go to the fitting! You can’t escape it forever!”

“You’re going to fight that with me, right?” Varric said to Hawke as she pulled him along.

“Of course. As I’ve said before, your chest hair is too glorious.”

 

* * *

 

 

The group of them were all waiting in the Heralds Rest, watching the door.

They weren’t trying to be obvious, of course. They were all trying to play off a false casualness to them all being together just watching a door for several hours. It wasn’t an odd sight to see them all together, Varric, Hawke, Isabela, and Merrill, with Bethany and her… cat, being late. If you looked at them, they were simply a group of people spending time in the bar.

“I do hope Bethany  gets here before Fenris. If not, it might ruin your things.,” Hawke mumbled to herself.

Varric raised an eyebrow at her, “And what, exactly, would it ruin Hawke? Fenris bringing a surprise or something?”

Hawke gave a small archaic smile, “Possibly. Wouldn’t you like to know.”

_ Oh I do _ , he thought, smugly, but Varric wasn’t about to ruin Hawkes fun just yet.

The four of them talked idly, at least one person's eyes on the door at all times. Anticipation began to crawl up Varrics, as they simply sat and waited.

“Where’s Cassandra?” Isabela asked, trying to make small talk.

Varric shrugged, “Probably off venting her frustrations about the dress on some poor dummy, or maybe she convinced Curly to spar with her, poor man.”

Isabela laughed, “She hates dresses that much?”

“My Seekers not exactly the feminine type, most of the time. She’s definitely a woman, don’t doubt that, but dresses and frilly things make her want to set things on fire, typically.”

Merrill set down her drink for a moment, “Oh, but Varric,  the dress- I walked in on one of her fittings by accident, but what I saw of it was  _ marvelous _ , she looks-“

Varric held up a hand to stop her, “Don’t spoil me for the big day. I’m curious, yeah, but I want for there to be a little surprise.”

Merril nudged Varrics foot under the table, smiling, “Oh Varric, you’re such a romantic sometimes, even if you don’t show it with anyone but Cassandra.”

“You know me Daisy. Always trying to keep the romance alive.”

It was then that the door to the Heralds Rest finally opened, and they all whipped around. Varric gave a broad grin as she saw a flash of white hair under a hood.

“Fenris?” Hawke said, immediately standing, her eyes wide a hopeful.

Fenris removed the hood from his cloak, looking right to Hawke, “Marian.”

“Momma Momma Momma Momma!” A streak of black hair and tan skin tore past Fenris, running straight towards Hawke. She bent down to quickly scoop the boy up, twirling him around.

“Hello darling! I seen you’ve missed me too! How are you feeling? You beat that cold good?”

The boy nodded profusely, with a smile that could outshine the sun, “yep! Papa made sure I got all better!”

Hawke looked at Fenris, smiling, “Did he now? Well, I should thank him helping you with the big scary cold, shouldn’t I?

“While thanks would be greatly appreciated, it’s part of the whole parenting job,” Fenris said, a small smirk on his face as he crossed the room, and kissed Hawke gently.

“Eww, stop it!” the boy said, and Hawke smirked as she pulled away.

“I’m thanking Papa for a job well done! He apparently did an excellent job of taking care of you. Would you like a good job kiss as well?” and without waiting for an answer, she kissed the boy on the cheek, and he giggled, and Varric knew his heart already belonged to this tiny kid.

“Um, Hawke, I hate to interrupt this happy reunion,” Isabela said, as she stepped in. Her eyes were glued on the child, “But, I’m sorry, did you neglect to tell everyone that you had a  _ bloo- _ “ Isabela stopped herself mid-curse, still staring at the child, “- that you had a child? Did you just, you know, not tell anyone? For… how old is he?”

Hawke gave a mischievous smile, “Well, I told Fenris, and I’m fairly certain Bethany figured it out through hints in letters. But, well surprise!” Hawke motioned to her child, and the boy waved, “I have a son! React in awe and astonishment now!”

Varric stepped forward then, finally speaking up, “You think you’re able to surprise me at this point?”

Hawke’s excitement dropped, “Are you serious? You knew? It was supposed to be a big fat wedding surprise and you knew! How dare you! He was supposed to be your wedding present!”

Varric snickered, “Well, if you want to go yell at Cole for spoiling your fun, you’re welcome to go ahead. But, in the meantime, why don’t you introduce the little guy to everyone?”

Hawke pouted, but looked at the boy, and pointed to each of them in turn, “That’s Varric- you can call him uncle, because he really is. He’s the one that’s going to get married, and you’ll meet your new aunt Cassandra later. That’s Auntie Isabela, she’s a pirate, and you’re never allowed to go off on adventures with her. And this is Aunt Merrill, she’s precious and wonderful and is amazing.”

“Where’s Auntie Bethany?”

“Did someone say my name?” The group turned toward the door, and Bethany stood in the doorway, the damned cat in her arms. Bethany’s eyes immediately flew to the tiny human, and she broke into a huge grin, “I  _ knew it. _ I don’t know why you never told me, but I  _ knew it _ .”

Hawke laughed, and set down the boy, looking him in the eyes, “Darling, why don’t you go introduce yourself to your Auntie Bethany. You’ve been very excited to meet her, right?”

He nodded, but he took his moms hand and pulled her over with him, and he hid behind part of her leg.

Bethany kneeled down, dropping the damned cat, and he slinked next to her, looking up at her. Bethany held out her hand.

“Hello. Can I ask your name? I’ve been waiting to meet you for a very long time.”

Hawke nudged the boy out, and he walked out, looking up at Bethany with his sweet smile.

“Hi. I’m Carver Hawke.”

Bethany’s smile disappeared, her face stunned, “Carver? Your names Carver Hawke?”

The boy nodded, taking Bethany’s hand and shaking it. Bethany shook his hand right back, but she looked up at her sister, “You named him Carver?”

Hawke gave a sad smile, and nodded slowly, “Seemed like the best name.”

Bethany looked at the boy again, who was starting to look worried, before smiling again, “It’s perfect,” she said, her voice hoarse, and Bethany pulled the boy into a hug. Varric thought he could see tears in her eyes.

The boy slowly hugged Bethany back, before looking up at his mother, a bit worried. But Hawke just kept smiling, and eventually knelt down and joined the hug as well, the three remaining Hawkes together.

It felt like ages before Bethany finally pulled away, and Hawke got up, taking her sons hand. Tears glistened in Bethany’s eyes, “It is very, very wonderful to meet you, Carver Hawke.”

Hawke spoke then, “Although, he’s not exactly like his namesake, are you darling. Do you want to show the rest of your family what you can do?” She motioned to the rest of them and everyone’s eyes were on the boy.

He smiled proudly, and lifted his hand, concentrating on it a lot, his tiny little brow crinkling. And a sudden spark shot out, cause tiny little blue lights. Varric had no idea what kind of magic that was, but it was very clearly magic.

He immediately looked at Fenris, and he noticed that Fenris’ expression was simply stoic, watching with little emotion.

“Oh,” Bethany said under her breath, and she quickly glanced down at the damn cat, before looking at the boy again, “Looks like the Amell heritage still runs strong.”

Hawke laughed a little, “Yes, evidently. He’s very very proud of it though, he’s just like his Auntie Bethany,”

Bethany looked over at Hawke incredulously, “What, exactly, have you been telling this boy about me?”

“That you’re the greatest person ever. You know, small things.”

Varric looked at Isabela and Merrill, both of whom looked back at him, Isabela raised an eyebrow, “You knew? And you decided not to share?”

“I figured it was more fun to make vague references the boy around Hawke and to watch her panic.”

Isabela snorted, “Fair enough. Should we leave the happy family alone now, to do whatever happy families do?”

Hawke piqued up at that, “Nonsense! You’re part of this happy family too,  _ Auntie _ Isabela. Come on, let’s sit, and you can all properly get to know little Carver.”

“He’s been very excited to meet you all. Wouldn’t stop talking about it the entire way.” Fenris said, sitting down.

“Well, we wouldn’t want to disappoint him, now would we? Maybe we can even introduce him to Cassandra.”

“Excellent idea. But, we aren’t leaving the boy alone with her.”

Varric paused, taking a sip from the beer that had been sitting there the entire night, “Okay… may I ask why?”

“Just trust me, I adore Cassandra, but I’m going to have to give her lessons in child care before you two have children.”

Varric choked on his drink, “You do realize Cassandra is, while still the most beautiful woman I know- sorry, but it’s true- past her prime for children?”

Hawke shrugged, “But, come on, wouldn’t they be adorable! They would be so short!”

Varric thought about it for a moment, and shook his head, “I’m not going to try and imagine something I know is probably not happening. Now, let’s stop questioning me about kids, and lets ask about yours.”

And Hawke dropped the subject at that, and began to gently encourage Carver to talk to his aunts and uncles. But Varric also had, in the back of his head, the thought of tiny half dwarf children, and he wondered when the hell he had become so disgustingly domestic.

He wondered if they would have Cassandra’s cheekbones. He decided that, in his imagination, they did.


End file.
